Trials and Tribulations
by swimmer07
Summary: The story starts off with Piper not knowing she is pregnant with Chris, who is hesitant to tell her. Meanwhile, a dark force is after Piper and Chris is the only one to realize it. Is he alone powerful enough to stop it? Completed!
1. An Odd Sensation

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or anything to do with it. I only created a few minor characters. I hope you enjoy!

This story takes place before Piper knows she is pregnant with Chris.

Chapter 1: An Odd Sensation

Chris orbed into the attic in search of Piper, but only found Phoebe and Paige cleaning out some of the old trunks. "Have you guys seen Piper?"

"I think she went to the club," Phoebe told him.

"At nine in the morning?"

"Maybe she wanted to get a head start. Who knows?" Paige continued to dig through one of the trunks.

"Have you guys noticed Piper acting...differently lately?"

"Maybe the fact she recently discovered she is pregnant with you has something to do with it. Oh, wait. I forgot you haven't told her yet." Phoebe stared hard at Chris.

Chris let out an exasperated sigh. When was Phoebe going to let this go? He wanted Piper to discover she was pregnant on her own. _Then_ he would tell her he was her son. There were just some things Piper was meant to find out on her own. "Phoebe, how would I tell her? 'How are you doing? That's great. By the way, you're pregnant and I'm your son.' I don't think that would go over too well."

"Chris," Paige scolded, "you have to tell her sooner or later. Preferably sooner."

"Can we change the subject now? Have you guys noticed Piper acting differently lately?"

"She's been kind of distracted lately. That may have something to do with being with Leo again and having him leave." Paige finally finished digging through the trunk and looked at Chris. "Why don't you go talk to her about it? You are he son, after all."

"Since you guys aren't going to help, I guess I'll find Piper on my own." He orbed out, leaving Phoebe and Paige alone to their cleaning,

Phoebe set down an old shirt and looked at Paige. "Do you think he has a point? Piper has been different lately."

Paige looked at her older sister. "Phoebe, the man she loves, the father of her son, I mean _sons_, left her, only to come back and leave again. She has every right to be acting differently.

Phoebe stared thoughtfully into space for a moment. "I guess you're right." She went back to cleaning out the trunk. She felt a nagging sensation, but dismissed it as unnecessary worry. She was naturally protective of her sisters, but sometimes she needed to take a step back and let them handle their own problems. If something was troubling Piper, she would come and tell them about it. Phoebe, confident with that last thought, turned back to the task at hand.

She ignored the odd sensation she felt, unaware Piper was in danger, _real_ danger, a danger that could cost Piper and her unborn child's lives.

Author note:

A little anticlimactic, I know. But it gets better I promise.


	2. Inner Turmoil

Chapter 2: Inner Turmoil

Piper gripped the rail of the bridge tightly, letting the tears fall freely down her face. _Do it,_ a voice inside of her head encouraged her._ This is the only way. It needs to be done_. Hearing the voice made Piper cry harder. The voice sound like her own, but felt different, alien. The wind blew her hair into her face, mixing with the tears and goo that ran from her nose. She knew she should wipe the hair out of her face, but couldn't bring herself to let go of the railing.

What Piper didn't know was that there was a Darklighter standing behind her, projecting thoughts into her mind. He was a Spirit Killer, much like the one that was after Prue all those years ago. He had been following her for three weeks now, slowly driving her suicidal, slow enough so her sisters wouldn't realize.

_Everything is your fault,_ the voice in Piper's head told her. _It's because of you the Innocent died._ It was true. That thought made Piper place one of her feet on the rung of the railing. Madison had only been a sixteen year-old girl, one they were sent to protect. A future Whitelighter, Madison was being hunted by a Darklighter who tired to make her commit suicide so she could never become a Whitelighter. Piper and her sisters showed up just in time to stop her from cutting her wrists. Piper and Phoebe forced Paige to leave with Madison before the Darklighter could kill Paige with his poison arrows. During the fight with the Darklighter, Piper was hurled across the room and into a glass cabinet. As a gut reaction, Piper called out for Leo and he quickly orbed in and orbed Piper out to an abandoned loft where he could safely heal her.

Unknown to them, the Darklighter was working with a partner, and they split up. One went after Madison and Paige and the other went after Leo and Piper. Phoebe was left alone, confused and worried. The first Darklighter caught Paige unawares and shot her and forced Madison to slit her wrists in the Halliwell kitchen. Phoebe arrived only seconds too later to save her. She held the dying girl in her arms.

The second Darklighter followed Piper and Leo to the loft. Leo had just finished healing Piper when the Darklighter black orbed in. He first took aim at Leo, but Piper pushed Leo aside. The arrow flew past Piper's head, missing her by less than an inch. The Darklighter then took aim at Piper, anxious to take out a Charmed One. As he shot, Leo jumped in front of the arrow, taking it in the shoulder. Piper flicked her wrists and the Darklighter let out an ear piercing scream and blew up, leaving nothing behind but his crossbow and a stain on the carpet.

Piper ran to Leo's side. "Paige, she's hurt. You need to switch powers with me, heal her, and come back for me." Leo told her, hearing Phoebe's cries for help in his head.

"But..." Piper protested.

"I'll be fine. Now switch our powers." Piper did as he asked, not happy about it. She didn't wan tot leave him, but she didn't want her sister to die either. After she completed the spell, she took one last look at Leo and orbed out.

Piper orbed to the manor and healed Paige, during which she answered the third degree from Phoebe. She was too late to save Madison, she slender body covered in blood and her beautiful, curly blond hair fanning out from her body, soaking up the blood that had spilled from her young body. It was too late for Madison, but not for Leo. She orbed back to him, healed him, and switched back their powers.

Before she knew it, one thing led to another and she and Leo were naked on the floor. Piper didn't regret what happened, but it was hard, having been so close to Leo and then having him go back 'up there'.

Unknown to them, after Leo left, the Darklighter cursed Piper.

Piper was now thought about Madison's funeral, seeing her sparkling blue eyes closed in irreversible sleep. It was a small funeral, only close friends and family, but hundreds had shown for the wake. _It's your fault she won't graduate, have a life, have a family. _You're_ the reason she's dead._ Piper had lost innocents before, but she didn't understand why this one affected her so deeply.

Piper looked down at the traffic below and her stomach turned. She didn't want to do this. _Yes, you do_, the voice told her_. You almost killed your son the other day. _That thought made Piper sob and she put her other foot on the rung of the railing. She was no longer on solid ground. All she had was this flimsy rail between her and certain death.

She almost killed Wyatt the other day. She was driving him to daycare when she was driving through an intersection, only five mile above the speed limit, when she looked down for just a second. She never saw the car come and sideswipe her SUV. Piper had been knocked unconscious for a few seconds, and she awoke to Wyatt's crying. A large piece of metal, from the side door, had almost pierced his stomach. Wyatt had thrown his shield up just in time to avoid being stabbed to death. _If Wyatt didn't have the shield_, Piper thought_, he would have been killed. And it would have been my fault._

The Darklighter smiled and laughter to himself. He was breaking her, he could see it in her face, feel it in her thoughts. It was time for the Big One. The One that would cause the Charmed One to jump. The painful memory that would make Piper Halliwell take her own life. The death of Prue.

The Darklighter really didn't even need to convince Piper it was her fault Prue was dead. Piper already believed it and that made his job so much the easier. _Prue,_ he projected into her mind_. Prue, the sister you killed."_

Piper let out a sob that racked her whole body. She climbed over the railing of the bridge and looked down at the traffic. She would do this. It was her fault Prue died. Prue died so Piper could live. Prue sacrificed her self for Piper. There was only one thing let for her to do. Jump.

Author's note: I hope you found this interesting. (Sorry if it's a little wordy. I wasn't sure how to get my point across.) Please read and review.

Does Piper jump or not? Find out in the next chapter!


	3. Saving Piper

Chapter 3: Saving Piper

Chris was anxiously scrying for Piper. He had the sinking feeling something was wrong. Way wrong. Chris was just about to give up when he felt the crystal pull on the map. It landed on a bridge on the other side of town. He didn't know what she was doing there, but he knew it couldn't be good.

When Chris orbed on to the bridge, he quickly took in the scene in front of him. His mom, crying, was on the other side of the railing, looking as if she were contemplating letting go of the railing. There was a Darklighter behind her. Suddenly, all the pieces fit together. The strange behavior, the accident, it was all because a Darklighter cursed her. With rising anger, Chris tackled the Darklighter from behind. Chris planted a good punch to his head, rendering him unconscious. He then slowly walked towards Piper, not wanting to scare her into falling.

"Piper," He slowly said, "You don't want to do this. Turn around and take my hand."

"It's my fault. Madison, Wyatt, Prue, all dead because of me." Piper didn't even look at Chris.

"Wyatt's not dead. He's alive and needs his mother. You. He needs you."

"All I do is hurt him."

"That's not true. You protect him. You protect him from demons on a daily basis."

"They would be after him if it weren't for me." Piper let one of her hands release the railing that was keeping her alive.

Chris could tell this wasn't working. He needed to come up with something good, fast. There was only one thing he could think of telling her, but he wasn't sure it would work.

"Piper, don't do this." Piper let both of her hands off the railing and she was now standing on a narrow strip on concrete, only about an inch wide.

Chris could tell she was about to jump. "You're pregnant!" he blurted out. "With me! I'm your son!" He hoped out of desperation this would work.

It did. Piper whirled around to look at him. As she turned, she lost her footing on the narrow concrete and began to fall.

"Chris!" Piper screamed. Chris reacted in barely enough time to grab Piper's hand. She was now dangling a hundred or so feet in the air with only Chris holding one of her hands to keep her alive, Fingers barely touching, Chris hoped that connection would be enough. He concentrated on orbing; making sure Piper would come with him. When he was sure, he orbed them onto the bridge, safely in the middle, away from all the railings.

When Piper found herself safely on solid ground, she took a deep breath and looked at Chris. This guy she thought was a stranger turned out to be he son. A few times she wondered why he had come from the future to save Wyatt, but she just thought he was doing the future world a favor. Now she realized he came back to save his family, to save his big brother. It was weird, seeing Wyatt's little brother older than he was,

"What?'" Chris asked when he caught Piper staring at him.

"Nothing. It's just a lot to take in. But some things make more sense now." Piper paused and looked at him again. "Um, thanks for saving me."

Chris broke out in a smile. "No problem. Anytime. And it just wasn't you I saved, it was me too."

Piper looked shocked. "Oh, God, you're right. I just almost killed the both of us!" Piper looked horrified with herself.

"You didn't know. But now you do. That's all that matters, right?"

"Right," Piper replied. She drew Chris into a hug, even though he towered over her, and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she saw the Darklighter over Chris' shoulder aiming a Darklighter arrow at him. "Chris! Watch out!" She yelled, but was too late.

The arrow pierced his back, and went though his stomach, almost hitting Piper's stomach, who was still hugging him. He slumped in Piper's arms, unable to breath.

Author's note: Do you like? I hope you do. Please let me know your comments. Next chapter: Will Piper loose the son she just found? Read on to find out.


	4. To Tell, or not To Tell

Chapter 4: To Tell, or Not To Tell

The arrow pierced his back, and went though his stomach, almost hitting Piper's stomach, who was still hugging him. He slumped in Piper's arms, unable to breath.

Piper gently placed him on the ground and stood to fight the Darklighter. "You'll pay for this." She flicked her wrists and the Darklighter exploded. She bent down on the ground next to Chris, feeling for a pulse. She found one, but it was weak. "Leo!" She called. She brushed the hair off of Chris' face. "LEO!" She called louder, taking Chris' hand in hers. Leo orbed in, looking relaxed and meditative. When he saw Piper holding the dying Chris' hand, he dropped the façade and looked at Piper. "Please, hurry." She pleaded, tears threatening to spill out. Leo nodded and orbed them to the manor

As Leo gently laid Chris on his side on the couch, Piper called for her sisters. "Phoebe! Paige! Get you asses down here **NOW!!!!**" Both came bounding down the stairs expect to see a demon. Not a dying Chris on the couch.

Paige walked towards Chris and held out her hand. "Darklighter Arrow!" She called and orbed it to the other side of the room before it could materialize and poision her. She stepped back near Phoebe as Leo began his work over Chris.

After an anguishing minute, but seemed like hours to Piper, Phoebe asked, "Is it working?"

"It's bad," Leo replied, "but I think it will work." Piper let out her breath. She couldn't loose Chris. Not now. Not after just finding him.

She looked angrily at her sisters. "Did you know?" They looked at her, confused, and Piper pointed to her stomach and then Chris. They sheepishly nodded their heads. "I will deal with you two later." Leo glanced in their direction, but didn't get the meaning of the conversation.

Leo finished healing Chris and Piper grabbed Chris' hand, overwhelmed with joy that he was still alive. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Chris looked from Leo to Piper, back to Leo, and then to Piper again, hoping she would figure out what he meant. Did she tell Leo about him yet? Piper got the meaning because she shook her head.

Leo looked around at the four of them. They were all acting weird, but Piper and Chris were acting the weirdest. Piper, who barely trusted Chris, was sitting on the couch next to Chris, holding his hand. There was some thing weird going on, and he was going to find out what it was.

Before he could ay anything, Piper asked, "Leo, can I talk to you? Alone, over there?" They walked up stairs to Piper's room to talk privately. Leo wondered if she was going to say something about what happened a few weeks ago, but was relieved (and a little disappointed) when she asked if he would take Wyatt to magic school over the weekend.

"Okay, but Piper..."

"Leo, if this is about what happened a few weeks ago, I don't expect anything. I know you're and elder and must stay up there. I understand, I really do. Nothing resulted out of what we did, so don't worry about it, really." Piper walked to Wyatt's room and packed a bag for him as Leo got him dressed. When he was ready, Piper gave Wyatt a kiss and handed Leo his bag. "Have fun with Daddy," she said and Leo orbed out with him.

Piper let out her breath and sat on her bed. She really meant to tell Leo about Chris, but could bring herself to do it. The pain she saw he had over having to leave Wyatt was enough. She couldn't ask him to leave two sons behind.

She felt even guiltier for lying to him. She said nothing resulted out of that night a few weeks ago, but that was a lie. It had rekindled the feelings she always had for him, but suppressed lately, and produced Chris.

Piper stopped wallowing in her pity when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

Phoebe, Paige, and Chris walked in. "Did you tell him?" Phoebe asked excitedly.

Piper sighed. "No."

"What?! Why?" Paige asked.

"Leaving one son was hard enough. I can't ask him to do it again."

"He has a right to know," Phoebe protested.

Now Chris spoke up. "No, he doesn't. He isn't there for me in the future, so why should he be here now?"

"You can't be serious! Leo would be thrilled o know you were pregnant Piper!"

"You don't know that, Piper replied to Phoebe. "You didn't see his pain over leaving Wyatt. Besides, he has enough responsibility as an elder and he shouldn't have to divide his time."

"Piper," Phoebe replied desperately, "you and the kids are Leo _family_. He needs to divide his time!"

Paige, tired of hearing everyone argue, came up with an idea. "Who votes Leo should be told?" Phoebe and Paige raised their hands. "And who thinks he shouldn't be told?" Piper and Chris raised their hands. "Two against two. Okay, that didn't work."

"No," Chris said, "it's two against three. The baby, remember. That means we win and won't tell him."

"That's not fair! How do you know if little Chris doesn't want to know his Daddy? "

Piper, seeing Chris was about to reply, quickly cut in. "Okay, hold it people. This is between Chris and me, so it is our decision. You two have no say in it. Leo is my..." Piper trailed off. What was Leo, exactly? She didn't know anymore. "... son's father and Chris' father. That didn't come out right." In frustration, Piper said, "You know what I mean. It's our decision, and we decide not to tell him."

Phoebe was getting mad. "Alright, but don't you think he's bound to notice you're pregnant later on, or what's going on when you decorate the baby's room?"

"We'll come to that road when we get there. For now, we say nothing to him." Piper said, ending the conversation.

Author's note: Sorry if you found it boring. Please let me know what you think! Preview for later on: demons, arguments, a suspicious Leo snooping around, and some emotional scenes between Piper and Leo!


	5. The Suspicion Begins

Chapter 5: The Suspicion Begins

Piper puked in to the toilet and flushed it. Only seven weeks pregnant, not even showing, and the 'morning sickness' was getting horrible. For her, it wasn't just 'morning' sickness, it was '24/7' sickness. She washed her hands, out on her pajamas, and got into bed. She felt her stomach give an uneasy twist and hoped the sickness would hold off till morning. She didn't feel like getting up in the middle of the night and puking out her guts. Before she fell asleep, her last thought was that she hoped they had enough saltine crackers downstairs.

Sure enough, 2:30 in the morning, Piper woke up with the feeling to vomit. She ran to the bathroom and bent over the toilet. When she finished, she slowly walked back into her room, holding her stomach, knowing that would **not** be the last time she ended up in the bathroom that night.

"Piper, are you alright?" A voice said from the darkness.

Piper let out a little scream, hoping it would not wake her sisters. "Damn it, Leo! What are you doing here?"

"I hold Wyatt sometimes at night. I told you that a while ago. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just a flu bug or something," she fibbed.

"Let me heal you."

"No!" Piper didn't want him to heal her and then vomit on him. That would take some explaining she didn't want to do. Besides, when she was pregnant with Wyatt, the smell of his aftershave made her sick to her stomach, and she wasn't eager to find out if it would now.

"Why not?"

"No magic, alright. We haven't seen a force of evil since the Darklighters killed Madison and I want to keep it that way. Every time we use magic not involving vanquishing, it seems a demon shows up, so just no magic." Piper lied her way through the question, falling back on the good old no-magic-all-I-want-is-a-normal-life routine.

"Piper, your apathy towards magic worries the Elders."

Piper was appalled and outraged. "My _apathy _towards magic worries Them?! Well, do They every worry about us? Do They every worry that every demon that walks, shimmers, or flames, into this house raises our chances of being killed and leaving our children orphans?!" Piper realized her mistake. _Children_. She said _Children_ instead of child.

Leo looked confused. "Children?"

Piper looked for a quick cover-up. "Phoebe saw a child of hers during a vision quest at magic school. That's why I said children." Leo seemed to buy the lie for now. "You know what? I don't want to argue."

Leo walked towards the nursery. "I'll put Wyatt down and leave."

"No," Piper protested. "You need to spend time with Wyatt. He hardly ever sees you and you need to spend more time with him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll be downstairs." She left the room and headed towards the kitchen. She was surprised to find Chris sitting at the table. "Hey. What are you doing up?"

"Nothing. You?"

"Hungry." She didn't want to tell Chris Leo was upstairs. She went to the cabinet and grabbed a box of saltines, making a note to get some more. She then went to the refrigerator and grabbed pickles and parmesan cheese.

"What is that?" Chris asked, disgusted. "Crackers, pickles, and parmesan cheese? Why?"

"Crackers for my upset stomach and the pickles and cheese because... well, just because I want them. It's a pregnancy thing." Chris just shook his head. "Want some?" She held out the pickle jar to him.

"Why not?" he said, taking a pickle. "No cheese though." He took a bite of the pickle and Piper held out the cheese to him. "Oh, whatever." He put some parmesan cheese on his pickle and took a bite. "Hey, this is pretty good!"

"See I told you. Would I ever steer you wrong?" Piper asked, smiling, making one for herself. It felt good to bond with Chris, to know she does some thing right in the future. Chris was a good kid. She only hoped Wyatt would turn out as good.

"So, tell me about the future." Chris groaned. "I don't mean you have to tell me what happens, but tell me about you. What do you do? Do you have friends? Do you even like the future?"

Chris took a breath. He guessed there were some things he could tell her without affecting the future. "Alright. When I was little, about six or seven, we, meaning you, me, Wyatt, Phoebe, her husband and kids, would go for picnics at this park. You would make this huge lunch and we would pig out all day, laugh, and just have fun. Those were some of the best times I ever had. They were just magic- free, worry-free days. It was great."

Piper smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed them so much. So, tell me about Phoebe. Kids, as in more than one? In her vision, she was pregnant, but only one."

"Plural, is all I say. You know I can't say how many."

"What about Paige? Did she or Leo ever come?"

"In my future," Chris said sadly, "Paige wasn't alive, remember? And Leo... well, he came a few times, but usually left because of some call or some thing. He really wasn't a big part of my life."

"And that's why you resent him so much now? Because he wasn't around back then?"

"I guess."

"You know, Chris, you shouldn't resent him now. He's not the person you know. Maybe you can change that. For the better."

"I thought you weren't going to tell Leo about me."

"I'm not, but he's bound to find out one way or another. If Phoebe or Paige manage to keep it a secret, which I highly doubt, he's bound to notice the changes. If he finds out on his own, maybe you should take what I said into consideration."

Piper let out a yawn. "I'm going to bed."

"I'll clean up."

"Thanks," she said, letting out another yawn. She began to head out of the kitchen when Chris' voice stopped her.

"I love you."

Piper was taken aback. This was the last thing she expected. She then broke into one of the largest smiles Chris had ever seen on her face. "I love you, too." She headed out of the kitchen. "Goodnight."

"Night," Chris replied and began to clean up the kitchen.

There was something going on with Piper, Leo just knew it. Was she so sick she was afraid to tell him? After spending a little more time with Wyatt, Leo set him in his crib and put up his invisibility cloak. He snuck downstairs to find Piper. He felt bad about snooping, but how else was he supposed to find out what was wrong with the woman he loved. He found her in the kitchen with Chris, and his heart dropped when he heard their conversation:

"I thought you weren't going to tell Leo about me."

_What was there to tell?_ Leo thought, growing suspicious.

"I'm not, but he's bound to find out one way or another. If Phoebe or Paige manage to keep it a secret, which I highly doubt, he's bound to notice the changes. If he finds out on his own, maybe you should take what I said into consideration."

Piper let out a yawn. "I'm going to bed."

I'll clean up."

"Thanks," she said, letting out another yawn. She began to head out of the kitchen when Chris' voice stopped her.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." He heard her say. "Goodnight."

"Night," Chris replied and began to clean up the kitchen.

Leo couldn't believe it. This was an all time low. Even for Chris. Sure, Piper had fallen for her Whitelighter, and her mother with hers, but did that mean the same for Chris?

As he looked at the smile on Chris' face and the one Piper gave him earlier, his suspicions were confirmed.

Chris and Piper were falling in love. Or had already fallen.

Author's note: Not what you were expecting? Let me know what you think!

Will Piper and Chris explain the misunderstanding to Leo, or let him be miserable? Where are the demons (they're coming, don't worry!)? Just wait till Leo confronts Piper! More of this and juicy twists and turns for the lives of the Halliwells (and a Matthews) to come! (Chapter 6 is pretty long, so use the bathroom before you sit and read!)


	6. Confrontations and Demons

Chapter 6: Confrontations and Demons

Leo couldn't believe it. How could Piper do this to him? In the week since he figured Piper and Chris were together, he could hardly function. He loved Piper and was happy she could move on for her own sake, but with _Chris_? He was like ten years younger than her, but he also lied and deceived them for months. He should have seen this coming. He should have realized there was something going on. The way Piper held Chris' hand when he was hurt, the way they've been looking at each other. Leo felt like a fool for letting Piper play him for so long. Especially after what happened _that night_. The night that he thought he had won Piper back. The night he seemed to have lost her.

"_Nothing resulted out of what we did..."_ Piper's voice rang through his head. How did everything go so wrong?

When Piper was dating Dan and was going to break up with him to be with Leo, Piper had given Dan the respect of telling him to his face. Leo wished Piper had the same respect for him and would tell him to his face.

Leo decided to go have a sisterly _chat_ with Phoebe or Paige. He knew his in-laws couldn't keep a secret and he was hoping to get some useful information out of them.

The manor was in chaos. Demons were flying everywhere, furniture was being blown apart, and the grandfather clock, once again, was in smithereens. Phoebe, on her way to work, encountered the first demon in the foyer. After calling for help, more demons showed up, and soon enough, the whole manor was in utter chaos.

It seemed that for every demon that was blown up, another took its place.

Phoebe stood in the middle of the action, having accidentally walked into it. Piper stood at the foot of the stairs and Chris was on the landing above her. Leo, having orbed unknowingly orb into the affair, stood, confused, in the living room.

After blowing up what seemed more than twenty demons, Piper got enough control over the situation to freeze it. All the demons, and Leo (who was on the other side of the room from her), we frozen in mid-action.

"Thanks," Phoebe, who was close to be getting grazed by an energy ball, said.

"Yeah, it's about time!" Paige exclaimed.

"Well, _sorry_. My powers are a little off right now. The baby and everything."

"Sorry," Chris apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Piper gave him a smile. "Unless you are going to be like Wyatt and make my explosion powers turn to fireworks or flowers." Chris laughed.

Piper flicked her wrists and blew up the demons in front of her. (She also unfroze Leo.) The girls waited, prepared for another attack. None came. They relaxed, and no one noticed the demon shimmer in behind Chris and Piper on the stairs. The demon formed and energy ball and aimed for Chris.

Leo, seeing the demon from the other side called out, "Behind you!" Chris' reflexes were fast; he ducked just in time to miss the energy ball.

Piper, on the other hand, wasn't. The energy ball hit her squarely in the abdomen and sent her flying across the room. She was rammed into the wall across from her and slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"No!!" Chris cried out as Piper was hurled across the room. He tried to stand up and go to her, but he suddenly fell to the ground as if _he_ was just hit by an energy ball.

Paige and Phoebe saw Piper fall, and began kicking demon butt even harder. You don't mess with a Charmed One's sister and get away with it.

Leo, meanwhile, immediately went to Piper's aid. He began healing her and was still healing her when Phoebe and Paige vanquished the remaining two demons and Phoebe dropped to his side. "Are you almost done?" Phoebe asked anxiously.

"Yeah. Why?" Phoebe motioned towards Paige, who was cradling Chris' head in her lap. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know," Paige answered. "He wasn't hit by an energy ball. He just suddenly hit the ground."

Leo finally finished healing Piper, the glow from his hands ending. He stood up and headed for Chris when Chris suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. "Piper? Piper, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "It's you I'm worried about. What happened?" Piper came and stood next to him.

Chris stood up and looked at everyone. His eyes settled on Leo for a few seconds longer. "Um, I fell down the stairs. Tripped over my own shoes. I'm real clumsy like that." His eyes darted between the group again.

Silence hung in the air like a gun waiting to be shot off. "Alright," Piper said, breaking the thick, uncomfortable silence. "If you're okay, I'm going to lay down."

"Are you alright?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." She gave him a quick smile and walked up the stairs.

Everyone watched her climb the stairs before looking back at one another. "Well," Phoebe said and everyone looked at her. "Gotta find out who those demons were, don't we Paige?" She grabbed Paige's hand and they ran up the stairs to the attic, leaving Chris and Leo alone.

Chris looked at Leo and began to climb the stairs, but Leo grabbed his arm. "I know something's going. I know it involves you, and I know it involves Piper. I'm going to find out what it is. You can count on that."

"You do that." Chris wrenched his arm out of Leo's grasp and went up the stairs.

Piper was lying on her bed, not asleep, but just resting her eyes, when Phoebe and Paige came bounding into her room with the Book of Shadows. "We found the demons!" Phoebe announced, flopping on her bed. "What's with you?" she asked, seeing Piper's melancholy look. Piper shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, Honey, it's Leo, isn't it?" Paige asked sympathetically. Piper nodded her head.

"If you just told him about Chris, all this misery would go away," Phoebe told her.

"We've already discussed this. Now tell me about this demon."

Phoebe sighed and opened the book to a certain page. "De_mons_, to be correct. They're called Hive Demons. They're distant relatives of Khazi's, Vampires, and Swarm Demons. Meaning, if we kill the leader, in this case the queen, all the mini-demons go bye-bye, never to return!" She slammed the book closed for dramatic effect.

"Simmer down, Phebs, simmer down," Paige told her.

"The vanquish is easy enough. All we say is: 'Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die'. Simple enough."

"Let's go kick some demon ass," Paige said and got up.

"Wait. Before we go, I want to find something out first. Chris!" She called. Chris instantaneously orbed into the room.

"What?"

"What happened earlier? I know you did not trip over your shoe. Out with the truth. Now."

Chris thought for a moment before answering. "I honestly don't know. But I do have a theory. I blacked out once Piper was hit right?" The others nodded their heads. "Well, since she is carrying mini-me, I think the baby was affected too, which in turn affected me."

"So, what you're trying to tell is that you have a connection with the little you and what ever happens to the baby happens to you?" Phoebe clarified.

"Basically."

"How is that even possible?" Paige asked and everyone looked at her. "Magic. I know, stupid question."

Phoebe looked at her watch. "It's a little after eleven now. How about we plan a demon vanquish for four o'clock? I have to pop into work and finish my column then turn it in."

"Now we're planning vanquishes?" Chris asked.

"When you have Elise for a boss you do." She kissed the top of Piper's head. "You take it easy, alright? You're caring for both Chris' now. We wouldn't want your toxemia to come back, would we?" She was referring to the threatening condition she had with Wyatt. "I'll be back around three, three-thirty. I'll see you then." She waved at them and walked out the door.

"I'm going to grab something to eat. Want anything?" Piper and Chris shook their heads. Paige walked out of the room.

Chris grabbed the book of shadows. "I'll take this back up to the attic." He left the room.

Leo was once again invisible, but this time he was hiding in the bathroom behind the closed door. He didn't want Phoebe's empathy powers to get a read on him. He hated spying, but it was his only way to get information any more. He put his ear to the door.

"Oh, Honey, it's Leo, isn't it?" Paige asked sympathetically. If Piper answered, he couldn't hear.

"If you just told him about Chris, all this misery would go away," Phoebe told her.

"We've already discussed this. Now tell me about this demon."

Phoebe sighed and opened the book to a certain page. "De_mons_, to be correct. They're called Hive Demons. They're distant relatives of Khazi's, Vampires, and Swarm Demons. Meaning, if we kill the leader, in this case the queen, all the mini-demons go bye-bye, never to return!" She slammed the book closed for dramatic effect.

"Simmer down, Phebs, simmer down," Paige told her.

"The vanquish is easy enough. All we say is: 'Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die'. Simple enough."

"Let's go kick some demon ass," Paige said. Leo didn't think the rest was important, so he left. He decided he would corner Phoebe at work and make her tell him about Piper and Chris. He orbed out to check on Wyatt, who was once again spending the weekend in Magic School. Leo began to wonder in Piper was doing this so Leo could spend more time with Wyatt, or so Leo would have one less reason to hang around the manor. Leo decided to have a talk with Chris before he talked to Phoebe.

Leo sensed Chris in Piper's room, and orbed outside of the door and listened with his ear pressed to the door. He didn't want to _interrupt_ anything, after all. He heard nothing, so he knocked.

"Come in," Piper called. Leo walked into the room to find Piper alone.

"I, um, sensed Chris in here." Leo was confused. He still sensed Chris here. "I need to talk to him about something. Do you know where he is?"

Piper began to panic. He must have sensed baby Chris instead of big Chris. She quickly froze Leo, a confused expression on his face. "Chris!!" she called out. Chris orbed in and she explained the situation to him. Then she told him, "Stand behind him, quick!" Just as Chris stood behind Leo, he unfroze.

"I could have sworn he was here," Leo continued without stopping.

"He is. Look behind you."

Leo twirled around and looked at Chris. "Where did you come from?"

"I was in the hallway. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"How did you know I wanted to talk to you?"

Damn, Leo was sharp. Chris forgot _Piper_ told him that. I was something he shouldn't know. Chris came up with a quick lie. "I head you talking when I was in the hallway. What did you want to talk about?"

Leo looked at him suspiciously. "Never mind. It can wait." He orbed out.

Piper heaved a sigh of relief. "We're going to have to watch that. I never thought he would sense the baby and not you. Where were you, by the way?"

"In the attic."

"Doing what?"

"Nothing in particular. Just seeing how much things change. Wondering how different they will be." Chris was lying. He was working on something he didn't want the girls or Leo to find out about. So far, no one was suspicious. He mostly worked at night, when everyone was asleep. Now he was in the attic researching some more info. He hated lying to Piper, but she would find out about it soon enough.

Leo orbed into Phoebe's office, scaring the hell out of her. "What the Hell?!!" She said, after levitating three feet out of her chair. "Are you trying to expose us?!"

"You know what? Right now, I don't really care. Something is going on between Piper and Chris, and I want to know what it is. Tell me now."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Phoebe said, smiling.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Your wisdom teeth are showing."

"Oh," Phoebe dropped the smile she used when she was lying.

"Now tell me what's going on."

"Leo, I want to tell you, and so does Paige, but this is Piper and Chris' decision, not ours." Leo let out a frustrated sigh. "And don't ask Paige because she won't tell either," Phoebe warned. Phoebe hated to see Leo hurting like this. She could see the pain in his eyes. She could feel the pain without even using her empathy powers. "Leo, there is something going on. I don't know what you think it is, nor do I want to know. All I know is that Piper and Chris have decided not to tell you. I wish they would, and I get the feeling Piper _will_ tell you, I just don't know when. You have to remember, Piper was hurt just as much as you were when you left. Now that you came back and left again, that opened old wounds. Just talk to her. Let her know you're not leaving again."

"But I can't promise that."

"Then you'll probably lose her, and this time, you won't get her back."

Leo left Phoebe to her work. What she told him made sense, just not in the way he thought. Was she only pretending to be in love with Chris because he left? Was this some cry for him to go to her? He decided it was time to ask Piper, to confront her with the truth.

Piper finished changing into some suitable demon-fighting clothes. This consisted of a pair of jeans, her hair pulled into a ponytail, tennis shoes, and one of Leo's old white t-shirts. Alright, the t-shirt wasn't necessary, but it made her feel close to him, and right now she needed to feel his presence, feel as if her were with her right now. Piper hated how she had been acting towards him lately, but she didn't know how else to act.

When Leo left, Piper went through his clothes and got rid of a majority of it, stuff he rarely ever wore. The other stuff went into boxes in the basement. Next to Prue's old photography stuff, to be exact. In that corner of the basement was stuff she couldn't bare to get rid of. The photography stuff reminder her of Prue. It was almost as if she would come back any day and ask why her stuff was in boxes. She put Leo's stuff next to hers, hoping this would blow past, hoping he would come back to her.

But Prue was gone, and she was never coming back. And it seemed the same was true for Leo. She lost her husband, her best friend. He was never coming back and his stuff would sit next to Prue's collection dust, until there came a day she could throw that stuff away. That wouldn't be happening anytime soon. She lost her sister to a demon and her husband to a higher calling. She was never going to let either of them go, but the pain would lessen, she knew. The pain over Prue's death was vague, but always present. Prue's death changed Piper, just a little, but enough for her to notice.

Piper laid on the bed feeling sorry for herself. She put her hand on her stomach and thought of all Chris would miss growing up without a father. He turns out to be a great kid, but there was a lot of bitterness to him. A lot of bitterness that resulted from not having a father. Piper let a few tears leak out of her eyes. She knew she wasn't that bad off. She had two wonderful sisters and a beautiful little boy and was expecting another one. She just wasn't sure if she could handle the emotional stress of it all. The club, the kids, Charmed duties... it was real stressful. She was going to have to ask her sisters for help, but she hated to have to be so dependent on them. They were will to help, but they had their own lives to live.

Piper curled into the fetal position and decided not to worry about the future now. She would just take each day as it came, each demon as it shimmered in.

That was how Leo found her, curled into the fetal position with tears in her eyes. "Piper?" he whispered.

She quickly stood up and wiped her eyes before facing him. "Leo, hi. Is something wrong with Wyatt?"

"No, no. He's fine. I need to talk to you. About Chris. I know what's going on."

"Oh. I thought about telling you, but I thought it would be better for everyone if I didn't. Chris agrees. I'm sorry I didn't." Piper felt some joy that he figured out she was pregnant with Chris on his own, but some disappointment about how he was reaction. He didn't seem too happy.

"Just tell me this: do you love him?"

Piper was a little confused. Where were these questions coming from? "Of course I do."

Leo looked crestfallen. "Oh." He began to walk away.

Piper now became angry. Why was he walking away now, when she needed him the most? "Is that all you're going to say?!"

Leo turned around to face her, tears in his eyes. "What do you want me to say?!"

"I don't know! Tell me how you feel! Show some concern, joy, anything! Don't just walk away!"

"Fine. You want to know how I feel?! I'm hurt alright?"

"Why?"

"Because you didn't tell me to my face. I had to sneak around to find out about you and Chris."

"I said I was sorry I didn't tell you! What more do you want?" The tears were now flowing freely from her eyes.

"I wish you would have given me the same respect you gave Dan."

"Dan? What does he have to do with this?"

"Come on, Piper. Don't play dumb. You respected him enough to tell him to his face you chose him over me, but you can't give me that same respect. The guy you were married to for two years."

"Leo, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact you fell in love with Chris but didn't have the guts to tell me!"

"Oh my God! Is that what you thought this was about?" He hadn't figured it out! This was just a big misunderstanding.

"Yes. I've heard parts of your conversations with Chris. You've also been acting differently around him too. I heard you tell him you love him in the kitchen that night."

"You've been listening to my conversations?! Leo, you just can't hear part of the conversation and assume you know everything! You shouldn't even be snooping around anyways!"

Leo felt kind of guilty. Piper had told him about listening to parts of conversations before. Last time he misread the meaning. Now he wasn't so sure he was all right. "How else was I supposed to find out what was wrong with you? Ever since _that night _you've been avoiding me. I've tried to talk to you, but you've blown me off. And that night you were sick and wouldn't let me heal you, I didn't know any other way to find out what's going on!"

Piper put a reassuring hand on his arm. "Leo, I am not in love with Chris, at least not in the way you think." She stopped crying now, and felt betrayed that Leo would think that of her. "I thought you knew me better than that."

"You mean you don't love him?"

"Not in the way you think." Piper let out a sigh. "I think you should sit down."

Leo put both of his hands on Piper's arms. "Piper, just tell me what's wrong." There was something strange about the way she was acting. He was expecting her to come out and say she had cancer or something equally bad.

Piper opened her mouth, but no words came out.

The suspense was killing him. "Piper, whatever it is, just tell me. We can handle it."

Those were the magic words. _We can handle it_. It meant she wasn't alone. She had someone in this with her. "I'm pregnant." Leo's hands fell from her arms. "With Chris." Leo looked at her questioningly. "Chris is our son."

Leo sat heavily on the bed. "You're pregnant?" This wasn't exactly what he was expecting. More like the total opposite. Now all the conversations made sense. He felt like and ass for believing Piper would do something like leave him for Chris. Leo felt like a fool.

Piper anxiously watched Leo's reaction. She saw many different emotions wash over his face. Relief, confusion, disbelief, confusion, and others she did not know. She felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Leo was going to decide he couldn't take it; he was going to leave...

"Is this what you've been hiding?" He stood up and held her hand. She nodded her head. "Why didn't you tell me?" He brought her into a hug and held her tight.

"I saw how hard it was for you to leave one son; I didn't want to see you have to go through it again."

Leo looked at her for a moment. She wasn't lying to him, but that wasn't the whole truth. "Piper, there's more to it than that. I know you would have told me if it were just that."

That was when Piper herself realized that was not the whole truth. There was a part of it she was hiding, hiding from Leo, and hiding from herself. More tears began to roll down her face.

"I was afraid that if you if you found out, you would leave again. I don't think I could take losing you again. I was afraid it would hurt to much, and if I kept you at a distance, the pain would go away."

Leo wiped the tears from her eyes. "Is that what you were scared of? Me leaving again?" Piper nodded. He finally made a decision for himself, for his family. "Honey, that won't happen. I promise I won't leave."

"But you're still an Elder."

"We'll just have to work around that. Piper, we have gone farther than any other witch and Whitelighter have before. My being an Elder won't stop us now."

Piper smiled. "You promise?"

Leo smiled back at her. "I promise." He hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

"I think there's someone else you need to talk to," Piper told him. "Chris!"

Chris orbed into the room. "What, M—'' He was about to say 'Mom', but then he saw Leo. "Hey, Leo."

"Chris, I told him. I couldn't hide it any longer." She walked to the door. "You two need some time to chat. Be nice." She left them alone and happily went down the stairs. Leo knew and she was finally free. No more hiding, no more lying. But best of all, he promised to stay. She just hoped he could keep that promise. She went into the kitchen only to find Phoebe, home from work, and Paige, listening to the conversation in her room thorough the vent in the kitchen. "You little witches." Piper said teasingly to them.

"Oh no. It's was Phoebe's idea. She's the witch. I'm the Whitelighter." They laughed.

"I wonder how they're doing up there?" Piper mused.

"You can listen in the vent. I used to do it all the time to Mom and Grams," Phoebe said with a wicked grin.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to wait upstairs in case I have to freeze the scene." She walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer. There, waiting for her, was a woman. She slightly resembled the demons from earlier. "Who the hell are you?"

"Your worst enemy." The demon raised an energy ball.

"What a cliché," Piper said and flicked her wrists. Nothing happened. The demon just smiled and hurled the energy ball at Piper. Piper froze the ball before it hit her. "Phoebe! Paige!"

Her sisters came running into the room. The demon launched another energy ball and the sisters dove for cover. Paige hid behind a wall, Phoebe by the stair case and Piper in the living room.

The demon used this distraction to grab Piper and shimmer out with her.


	7. Light at the End of the Tunnel

Chapter 7: Light at the End of the Tunnel

The demon shimmered into a cavern like room with Piper. Piper knew she was in the underworld and it would be no use calling for Leo. She was in the underworld, kidnapped by a demon that was immune to her powers. It couldn't get much worse.

The queen produced a knife and held it to Piper's cheek. "I'm going to make you suffer like you made me when you killed my drones." She traced the knife down Piper's cheek, to her throat, to her chest, and finally to her abdomen. Then she drove the knife in.

Piper let out a gasp as she fell to the floor in blinding pain. She was wrong. The situation just got much worse. The demon ripped the knife out, cause Piper to spasm in pain. She could barley breathe, barely do anything except thing of the excruciating pain. She tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths. _This is no time to panic_, she told her self. She held her stomach wound, hoping her baby was still alright.

If she were to die here, the one thing she could do was get revenge on her and her son's killer.

Piper looked at the demon on the other side of the room, sitting in her chair, watching Piper die, as if it were a throne. But then again, it was a throne to her. She was the queen, the leader. Piper looked at the leader, took a deep breath, and began to chant. "Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die. Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die." She was no power of three, but she was a powerful witch, and maybe, just maybe, if she said it three times, once for each of them, she could vanquish the queen. Before she could get the third time out, pain began washing over her, preventing her from talking.

The queen heard her chanting and stood up. "What are you saying? Stop it, I command you!" The queen took a step, but seemed glued to the floor. "What are you doing to me?"

Piper suppressed the pain. "Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die." The queen began to tremble and was engulfed in a huge ball of flames. She high-pitched scream rang in the chamber, causing some of the ceiling to fall, luckily none on Piper. Where the great queen once stood was nothing but a scorch mark.

Piper rolled on to her back and gave into the pain. She tried to call out for Leo, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The pain was just too great. She was going to die, and no one could help her now.

An elder out in the open in the underworld was never a good thing. Demons and Darklighters were coming after him left and right. They manage to ditch all but two, who Phoebe and Paige were forced to vanquish. As much good as it would have done to vanquish all of them, getting to Piper was their main concern. Every minute them spent vanquishing demons was a minute taken off of Piper's life. The distant pain Leo felt was Pipers, and he knew she didn't have long. With every spasm of pain from Chris, Leo grew more panicky. A spasm of pain from Chris meant a spasm of pain from Piper, and Leo was afraid he would arrive to late.

They finally managed to reach Piper, after ditching a few evil forces, and we in shock to the scene they arrived at. The moment they arrived, Leo saw Piper, on the floor bleeding, mumbling something. He took a step towards her and the queen suddenly became a bright ball of orange fire. Her ear piercing scream made pits of ceiling fall on Phoebe, but she was uninjured.

Leo ran to Piper and instantly began to heal her. "Come on, Piper. You can do it," he whispered, but received no answer.

Piper was standing alone in a tunnel. All around her was dark, except for a sliver of light at the end. _Am I dead?_ Piper wondered. As if to answer her unspoken question, the light came speeding towards her, and she saw a shadowy figure walking towards her. He held out her hand to her, but she hesitated. "Who are you?"

"I am death." He simply stated. Piper suddenly recognized him. She had seen him at the club a few days before.

"I know you. You were at my club."

"Yes, I was. I wanted to examine you, make sure you were actually coming with me this time."

"What do you mean 'this time'?" Piper asked.

"There have been many times you have been on my list, only to be removed later. But this time, you are on it, my dear, and are not being removed."

Piper understood what he was saying. "Leo. You mean Leo. He's the reason I've been 'removed' from your list so many times."

"Yes."

"Well, I got news for you buddy. I'm being 'removed' again, and you can't stop it. Leo!" she called, but there was no familiar twinkle of orbing.

"He can't hear you. The only ones here are you, me, and your baby."

Piper put her hands to her stomach and realized there was no more blood, not even a wound. That freaked her out. It meant this was legit, the real thing. "No. You are not taking me or my baby. Get away from me!"

Piper gestured to blow him up, but nothing happened.

"Your powers are useless," he told her. Piper turned from him and began walking towards the darkness. "There is nothing there. It is endless." Piper just kept walking, but the light and the Angel of Death kept up with her without even moving. "You cannot escape me. If you stay here, you will die eventually and it will be painful. But if you take my hand, there will be no more pain, no more suffering.

"You are **not** taking me or my baby. Stay away from me!" Piper yelled at him. She decided to try a different approach. Treat him as a demon, one that needs to be vanquished.

"What's taking so long?" Phoebe anxiously asked. Leo had been at it for a good five minutes, and nothing was happening.

"Something's fighting me," Leo replied. As in response, Piper flicked her wrists and blew Leo up.

"Oh my God!" Paige, cradling Chris' head, screamed. "What did she do to him?!"

Leo quickly reformed himself. "I think it's me she's fighting." Leo didn't understand. "Why was Piper fighting him? Didn't she want him to save her?

"Stay away!" Piper yelled and began to struggle against them.

"I don't get it. How can she be on the verge of death and still be fighting?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know." Leo looked at Piper's wound and determination set in. "Hold her hands, Phoebe." Phoebe did as she was asked. Leo began to heal Piper, determined that nothing would hold him back, not even Piper herself. "Come on, Piper. Don't fight me."

Piper tried punching and kicking the Angel of Death, but it was not use. The punches just sailed straight through him.

"You can't fight me."

"The hell I can't." She threw another punch, but it sailed right through. Piper was getting tired. This placed seemed to be draining her energy. Piper wasn't fighting for herself now; she was fighting for her baby. If she died, Chris would never be born, and that thought gave her the motivation to fight. But now, she wasn't so sure. Powers, spells, physical contact... none of it seemed to be working. She wondered if this was their new destiny, to die. She didn't want to leave Leo, Wyatt, or her sisters, but in the years since she became a witch if she learned anything, it was that everything happens for a reason.

She put her hands on her stomach and contemplated giving in to the Angel, but a Brilliant white light, like the one in front of her, came at her from behind. _Oh no, _she thought_. I've run out of time. Now death has come from both ends to get me_. Piper closed her eyes, expecting it to hurt like the Angel of Death told her it would, but she felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw the Angel of Death staring at her in confusion. Piper was confused too. What was going on?

The white light was coming closer to her. There was something familiar about it to Piper. "Leo!" She whispered, finally recognizing the light as the feel of her husband's healing touch. Without hesitation, Piper step towards the light. She took one last look at the Angel of death and was taken in by the white light.

Leo was just beginning to think he lost Piper, and then suddenly, he felt his power being accepted. "It's working!" he cried and Phoebe and Paige looked at him in anxious relief.

Piper let out a gasp of breath and Leo hugged her close. "I thought I lost you." He was trying not to cry. She had come so close to dying. Too close.

"You did, but I here now and that's what counts." She looked over his shoulder and saw Chris sit up. He looked at her and smiled, and she smiled back.

I hope you like how it's going. Please let me know! Next Chapter is a conclusion, but I am thinking of continuing the story.


	8. Returns and Goodbyes

Chapter 8: Returns and Good-byes

It was a sunny morning, one Piper, Paige, and Phoebe spent together in the kitchen over some of Piper's blueberry pancakes. Leo was up consulting with the elders and Chris was...well, they didn't know where he was. He stopped in this morning and left soon after.

What they didn't know was that he was in the attic, finishing his 'project' and 'research'. It would be done soon, and he could finally tell the sisters.

The girls were in the kitchen laughing, talking of things that passed and things to come, when Leo orbed into the kitchen, a huge smile on his face.

"What did the Elders have to say?" Phoebe asked, still laughing at one of Paige's jokes.

"Is Chris here? This concerns him too."

"That doesn't sound good," Piper said, dropping her smile.

"Oh, it is don't worry," Leo reassured her. "Chris!"

Chris orbed in right away. "Yeah?"

"Your father has some news," Piper informed him.

Leo clapped his hands together, smiling. "In light of recent events, the Elders have decided the Charmed Ones, and their newest editions," Leo said, referring to Wyatt and baby Chris, "need some extra help. So they have decided you will have two Whitelighters." Leo paused to hear their reaction, still smiling.

The sisters looked at each other. Phoebe finally spoke up. "I think we're okay with just Chris. Besides, I'm sure we really don't feel like introducing anyone else to our world of weird family problems. No offense to you, Chris and Piper," Phoebe said, referring to the fact the child Piper was pregnant with was standing next to her, twenty-two years old.

"Yeah, Honey," Piper said. "It's sweet of them to suggest that, but I think we can manage with just one Whitelighter."

"Even if the other Whitelighter is me?" Leo asked, and waited for their reactions.

The room was silent for a moment and then, "Oh my God! Are you serious?" Phoebe squealed with delight. Paige happily clapped her hands.

Piper jumped up and hugged him. "Are they really going to let you do this?"

"Yep. I sorta asked to be demoted to a Whitelighter. I need to be with my family now. That's the most important thing." He hugged Piper to him. "So starting tomorrow, Chris and I will be your Whitelighters."

Chris just looked on at the happy enjoyment of his family. He had to tell them now. He had to tell them about the 'project' he was working on. "Actually, only Leo will be your Whitelighter."

"What?!"

"I'm going back. To the future. I have a a potion ready."

The room was silent. The happiness of Leo returning was dispersed by Chris' announcement. "Do you have to go?" Paige eventually asked.

"Yeah. I have to go back, make sure the future's right. I need to make sure Wyatt's good. Besides, this is the time for little me. It's time for me to go back to my own time, to my own friends, to my own life."

Piper nodded her head. "I understand. I just wish you didn't have to go."

"I know. I wish I didn't either, Mom." Piper smiled and hugged Chris tight. That was the first time she ever heard him call her Mom.

The five of them migrated to the attic, where Chris had already drawn the Triquetra on a wall.

"Here's the potion; just throw it at the Triquetra. Based on my research, this should work."

"_Should?_ Should work? You're not sure?" Piper practically screamed at him.

"Mom, it's as good as it's going to get. Don't worry, I can take care of my self."

"But what if it sends you into a parallel plane, or too far into the future, or to the past—"

Phoebe cut her off. "You're overreacting."

"Sorry. Hormones."

"No, you're just like that," Phoebe told her and Piper made a face at her.

Chris just smiled at them. Paige walked up to him and gave him a big hug. "You take care,"

"You too."

Phoebe was the next one to hug him. "You come back if anything is wrong. I don't care what it is; it could be a hangnail for all I care." Phoebe was trying to hold back tears. Chris had become a fixture in their life. It wouldn't be the same without him.

Chris laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

Next was Leo. Chris extended his hand to him, but he didn't take it. Instead, he drew him into a hug. They didn't need to say anything. Leo squeezed his shoulder.

Last, but certainly not least, Chris turned to Piper. She was crying, but she knew he had to go. But that didn't make it any easier. "I love you, Mom," he said.

"I love you too." Piper released him from the hug. "Thank you."

"For what? Breaking you and Dad apart?"

Piper put his face in her hands. "No. You did what you had to do. You saved Wyatt and helped us to defeat the titans. You are a great kid. I couldn't ask for anything better than that." Chris smiled at her. "Now get out of here before you make me cry harder."

Leo threw the potion at the wall, and the Triquetra burst into brilliant, swirled light. Chris walked towards it. Before he was all the way through, Chris turned and waved.

Then he was gone.

The manor suddenly felt very empty. The four remaining just looked at each other for a while. Each had tears in their eyes. Chris had become a part of the family, and now that he was gone, it felt empty. "Well," Phoebe began to say, but the doorbell rang. "I'll get that."

She slowly walked down the stairs, musing over Chris' departure. The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming!" she yelled at it. Jeeze, people were so impatient. She opened the door and saw a man holding flowers. Phoebe had to gasp for breath.

"Jason?"

Author's note: I was planning on leaving it here... just kidding! More chapters to be up sometime school. I kind of have to fit this around school, but I want to write a few chapters and put them up at the same time. Hope you liked!


	9. A Dinner Date

Chapter 9: A Dinner Date

Phoebe stared at her visitor, mouth wide open. "J-Jason?" She stammered.

"Um, yes, Phoebe. It's me."

Phoebe opened the door wider so he could enter. He handed her the bouquet, but she ignored it; she was to busy staring at Jason.

"What?" he asked, noticing her staring at him.

"Nothing. It's just, um, not to be mean or anything, but why are you here?"

"I'm here to see you, Phoebe. In these few months, I've realized how much I miss you."

Phoebe just stared at him. She was speechless. This was the last thing she expected, Jason Dean at her door step. She was about to ask him something when Piper, Paige, and Leo came down the stairs.

"Jason!" Piper exclaimed, stopping halfway down the stairs.

"Hey, Piper. Paige, Leo, nice to see you again."

"Hey, Jason," Paige said. "Surprising to see you again."

Piper nudged her in the ribs. "Well, you to catch up and we'll be up stairs." She grabbed Paige's arm and tugged.

"Doing what?" Paige asked, but Piper just tugged on her arm until she followed.

Leo still stood on the stairs. Piper had to come down and push him up the stairs. "What did I do?" he asked and Piper gave him one last shove.

"Did I say something?" Jason asked when they were gone.

Phoebe laughed. "No. It's just hormones, I think."

"Hormones?"

"Yeah. She's pregnant."

"Really? So her and Leo are back together?"

"Yeah."

"I guess I've missed a lot."

"Yeah you have."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to fill me in at dinner. Seven thirty at Marco's?" he asked, naming an Italian restaurant downtown.

Phoebe smiled. "I would love to. Are you sure you want _all_ the details?"

Jason smiled back. "_All_ of the details."

"Even the gory demon explosions?"

Jason made a face. "Leo and Chris aren't going show up halfway through dinner with an emergency, are they?"

Phoebe frowned and looked down. Chris. In her happiness of seeing Jason, she had completely forgotten about Chris.

"Phoebe? Did I say something wrong?"

Phoebe looked up at him. "No, it's just, Chris went back today, and I really miss him."

"Were you two close?" Jason asked, curious if Phoebe was seeing someone else while he was gone.

"As close as an aunt and nephew can get."

"_Nephew_?"

"Yeah. He's Piper's son from the future."

"Piper's son. Future. Right."

"See? It's just those little details you've missed."

"_Little_ details? Please don't tell me this is normal for you."

"You'll just have to decide that for yourself at dinner tonight. I plan on telling you everything. Everything from the day we became witches to the moment you rang the doorbell." She looped his arm through hers and walked him to the door. "Marco's at seven thirty, no interruptions."

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." Her empathy powers were overloading. She thought he was going to kiss her good-bye, but a crash came from upstairs. "What was that?"

"Jason, you need to go. I'll see you later, I promise." She rushed him out of the door and closed it before he had the chance to say anything else.

What was that sound, he had asked. That was the sound of a demon being thrown around upstairs. Phoebe ran up the stairs to vanquish a demon, determined nothing was going to get in the way of her date tonight. Nothing.

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Leo and Paige were in the bathroom with Piper as she was bent over the toilet.

"I can't believe Jason's back," Paige carried on, and Piper threw up in response.

Leo rubbed her back. "Are you alright, honey."

"Just peachy," she said sarcastically. "I don't remember being this sick with Wyatt."

"Could it be any worse? I remember having your symptoms when Wyatt switched our powers and frankly, I don't see how you handle it."

Piper just shrugged and stood up. Paige looked at her. "Speaking of my magical nephew, how come Chris hasn't been performing any magic tricks? I haven't seen you burping orbs yet."

"First of all, I'm only two months along, and secondly, you shut your mouth. I don't _want_ to be burping orbs or switching powers. Once was enough."

"Too bad you don't have the force field."

"Yeah, that was nice. I guess it's safe to assume Chris doesn't have one."

"Well, big Chris didn't have one, so why should little Chris?"

"Paige, you should know by now how easily the future can be changed. Phoebe's premonitions are proof of that. And the fact when I went to the future, I had a little girl, Prue was alive, and Phoebe was being burned at the stake. None of that is happening now, is it?" A small gnat flew near Piper's face and she waved a hand at it.

At that same instant, Paige flew across the room and hit the far wall, landing on the bed. "Paige!" Piper yelled and ran o her sister's side. "What happened?" Paige just moaned in response. Piper saw no one else in the room. "Leo, was it an invisible demon?" Leo shook his head. "Then what was it?"

Before he could reply, Phoebe bounded into the room, fist raised in a fighting stance. "Prepare to die, demon." She looked around and saw nothing, so she dropped her stance. "What happened?" she said, he eyes falling on Paige who was no sitting up.

"The baby did magic," Leo explained.

"What?!" the sisters exclaimed in unison.

"No he did not!" Piper said in his defense.

"Piper, think about it. When you went into the past, you didn't have your powers because your past selves had them. Only one of you can have powers in the same time frame." The girls just looked at him in confusion. "Big Chris had telekinesis..." Leo prompted.

Piper was the first to get it. "Oh. Since Chris is gone, little Chris has come into his powers." Leo nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, but what I don't get is why the unborn children of this family pick me to throw across the room," Paige mumbled. "First Phoebe's demon child, now Chris. I thought he liked me."

Leo laughed. "It's not like that. Besides, Wyatt didn't pick on you. You were thrown across the room because you happened to be in front of Piper when she waved her hand."

"Lucky me," Paige said sarcastically.

"My hands are once again lethal weapons," Piper said, putting her hands in her pockets.

"Actually, I'm relieved you have this new power," Leo informed her.

"You're relieved that every time I wave to you, there's a chance I'll send you flying into the next room?!"

Leo hugged her from behind, but Piper refused to take her hands out of her pockets. "You'll just have to learn to control it. Besides, if you just throw me into another room, I'll just orb back in." Piper laughed and Leo smiled.

"Maybe it will be helpful having telekinesis. It sure helped us fight demons when Prue was alive," Phoebe added.

"Yeah, but she knew how to control it. Me, I just moved my hand and Paige was flying across the room."

"You'll just have to practice controlling it," Leo told her.

"How?"

"Practice it. Adjust to having a new power. It will take a while, sort of like your explosion power."

"I have a better way you could practice it," Phoebe suggested.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Use it to keep any demons away and busy while I'm on my date with Jason tonight."

Piper smiled and Paige asked, "A date? Already? He's only been back for what, six and a half minutes?"

"We're just going to catch up. Will you guys promise not to come and get me unless it is an emergency, emergency?"

"Yes, we promise. Now do whatever it is you have to do."

"But I don't have anything to do until my date with Jason."

"You could..." Leo stopped in mid sentence, holding his head up in a listening position. "The Elders are calling." He kissed Piper and orbed out.

"I have a question," Phoebe asked. "Are you to going to get married again?"

"No."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because we never got divorced. I asked him, but nothing was ever legalized. Besides, we were married by a Hand Fasting ritual. It's not like I could go to the courthouse and ask a judge to divorce me and my dead husband, who they have no record of marriage for."

"Good point."

"You could always renew your vows," Paige suggested.

"Let's just take this as it comes. Leo is still technically an Elder and I don't know where we go from here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he's been out of our lives for almost a year. That's a lot of time to be made up. Don't get me wrong. I love having him back, I wouldn't change that for anything in the world, but we just can picked up where we left off. It's just not going to happen." Piper sat down on her bed.

"She's right, Paige. It's kind of like that between Jason and me. As much as I'd like to, we can't start off where we left off. There's just too much time."

"Yeah, but you and Jason weren't also married for over two years and had a kid," Paige said.

"Can we just drop the conversation? I don't even know why we're talking about this." Piper got up from the bed. "I am going to go learn how to control my new power. If you need me, I will be in the basement." Piper walked out of the room.

"Basement?" Paige asked.

"Last time she got a new power, she locked her self in the basement until she could control it. She wouldn't even let Leo come near her."

"Should we worry?"

"Nah. She'll figure it out sooner or later. Besides, she has to come up sometime. There's no bathroom down there."

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Piper grabbed the crying Wyatt and gave him a bottle. He quit crying immediately. She took him down into the basement with her. She sat Wyatt down somewhere he would be safe to play with his toys.

Piper didn't know where to begin. She wasn't even sure how this power worked. She decided to base her attempts on something she knew. Prue. Prue at first controlled her power through her eyes, then later through her hands. Piper figured that was the best place to start.

She grabbed an old soccer ball from one of the shelves and put it in the middle of the room. She squinted her eyes at it, but nothing happened. "Come on," she said. Now she tried waving her hand at the ball, but nothing happened. She tried everything she could think of, but nothing worked. She sat down on the floor in frustration.

Wyatt stood up and walked over to her. He telekinetically made the soccer ball rise in the air and go back down. "You can do it, but Mommy can't," she said to him. Wyatt just shook his head. He put his hands over her eyes. Piper moved her head so she could see, but he just covered his eyes again. Piper decided to do what he wanted. He knew how to use telekinesis and she didn't, so what was there to lose? She closed her eyes and tried to relax. She tried channeling her power to her hands. Breath in, breath out. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Wyatt grabbed her hands and moved them for her. She felt calm, peaceful. She decided to risk opening her eyes. She did.

And the soccer ball was floating in mid-air. Piper gasped in surprise and the ball fell. But Piper was happy anyway. She looked at Wyatt. "Mommy did it!" She clapped her hands, and that was a mistake.

A box of Christmas lights and one of Phoebe's old boxes came flying off of the shelves towards Wyatt. Wyatt didn't see the boxes flying towards him. But before Piper could do anything, Wyatt's shield came up and the objects deflected off of it. He shield came down. All of this happened with out him even blinking.

Piper hugged him to her. "Way to use your powers, Wyatt." She picked him up. "Let's go upstairs and see what Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige are up to." She head towards the stairs and Leo orbed in behind her.

"Piper," He said startling her. She jumped and one of Wyatt's came flying at him and hit him in the forehead. "Ow!"

"I'm sorry, honey!" Piper looked at his read forehead. "I didn't mean to."

"I know. At least you have good aim."

"So what did the Elders say?"

"The transfer of my powers has to take place down here, two weeks from now"

"Down here as in the basement?"

"No, as in down here on Earth. That's why the Elders have given us two weeks. We need to start undemonizing the house. It's kind of like when Remus gave up his powers. They're up for grabs until the transformation has taken place."

Piper looked at him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes. You and the boys are the most important things in my life. I need to be down here with you." Piper smiled.

"Oh yeah. And the Elders want to see Paige."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know."

"They're not going to turn her into an Elder in your place, are they?"

"And break up the Power of Three? Never."

"Then what could they want?"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

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Not all was well in the future, as Chris was finding out. Actually, _nothing_ was well in the future. It seems he changed too much in the past. Wyatt wasn't evil any more, but the consequences were much worse. You could even say they were deadly.


	10. Time to TimeTravel

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Chapter 10: Time to Time-Travel

Phoebe was dressed and ready for her date. Only problem was, she still had an hour to wait. Seeing Jason again, being that close to him... it brought back memories. Not to mention her empathy power was sending her senses into overdrive. It wasn't love. Before he left it was love, but now it was something, just not quite love.

She checked her makeup in the mirror. It was absolutely perfect, no flaw in sight. She looked at the clock on her end table. Only fifty-five minutes to go...

Paige orbed into her room. "If it's a demon, I don' want to hear it," she warned.

"What? No. Something better."

"What is it?"

"You are looking at a newly employed Paige."

"Really? That's great!" Phoebe congratulated her. "I thought you went to see the Elders, not a job interview."

"That's right."

"Yeah, you got to help me here. I'm lost."

"The Elders gave me a job. I am now a teacher at magic school."

Phoebe jumped up and hugged her. "That is so great! I'm so proud of you. When do you start?"

"Two weeks. I'm replacing a teacher that is going to get Leo's Elder position."

"Paige, that is amazing."

"I know. I'm so happy." Paige looked at herself in the mirror. "I hated giving up my job at the clinic, but my magic had to come first. But now I have a job that involves magic, and I even get time off for legitimate Charmed duties. I may not get paid for it, but at least I feel worthwhile again."

"Paige, you have been great. You don't need a job to feel worthwhile."

"No, but it helps."

Phoebe laughed. "Come on. Let's go tell Piper and Leo."

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Meanwhile, in the future, Chris was running from Paige and Phoebe. They were trying to kill him. No joke. They thought he was a demon, and they had a vanquishing potion ready to go. He raced to the attic and grabbed the book of shadows. Phoebe and Paige would figure out where he was any minute. He flipped the book to a spell. As he recited it, Phoebe and Paige busted into the room. "What are you doing?!" Phoebe yelled and Paige hurled the potion. Chris quickly read the rest of the spell and was immersed in white, swirling lights just before the potion reached him.

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Phoebe was on her date, Piper was putting the kids to bed, and Paige and Leo were in the attic, checking out the book of shadows for any possible demons to attack in the weeks to come. "Where do we even begin?" Paige asked.

"Look for demons that want power."

"Okay, that's only all of them."

"I mean ones who specialize in stealing powers."

"Oh. _That_ kind of demon. I think--" She was cut off by the sudden appearance of swirling white lights. Paige grabbed one of the many potions she had been concocting all day. She was tempted to throw it, but didn't. White lights like that usually meant something good. She still had it poised and ready to throw when Chris suddenly appeared out of the white lights.

He saw Paige with the potion and thought the spell had failed, that it was still the same Paige trying to kill him. he screamed and tackled her to the floor. Leo had to pull him off of her.

"What is your problem, Chris?!" Paige said as she made the effort to get off of the ground. Leo roughly held him back.

"What's wrong with_ me_? What about you?! You're the one who's trying to kill me!"

"I thought you were a demon!"

"How my times to have to tell you I'm not?"

Paige was thoroughly confused. "This is the first time you've told me."

"Bullshit. You've been like this ever since I got back."

Leo pushed him against the wall. "Watch your language. What the hell has gotten in to you?"

"Ask her and Phoebe. Maybe if they weren't trying to kill me, I wouldn't have to worry."

"Phoebe's not even here. What are you talking about?"

Piper, hearing all the noise, came running into the attic. "What's going on?" she asked, but then she saw Chris. "Chris?!"

"Mom?!" He pushed Leo out of the way and gave her a huge hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Piper hugged him back, confused. "I'm glad I okay too. Now do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Chris looked around the room for the first time. "It worked! It worked!"

Paige, still a little hurt by his attack, asked, "What worked?"

"The spell! It brought me back!"

"Clearly."

Chris looked at Paige. "I am so sorry. I thought you were trying to kill me again."

"Again?"

Chris sighed and sat down on one of the old chairs in the attic. 'You remember how I was afraid that if I told you too much the future would change in bad ways? Well it did."

He saw that Piper was about to open her mouth. "Don't worry; Wyatt's good. A perfect little angel. Literally. At least I did one thing right."

Piper kneeled down by Chris. "Chris, Honey, you have to tell us what is wrong. It's the only way we can help. No secrets this time. Promise?"

"Promise." He looked around. "Where's Phoebe? I only want to explain this once."

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Jason took Phoebe to a beautiful restaurant in downtown San Francisco. He was the perfect gentleman, even pulling out her chair for her when she arrived. "Phoebe, I love being back here with you. I want to know everything that's happened to you, magic or not."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes."

They ordered their food before she began to talk. As she ate, she gave him small detail of her life before magic. Mom dying, Dad leaving, Grams dying, moving to New York, those sorts of details.

She waited until she was done with dinner to begin the magic stuff. She described to him finding the Book of Shadows and reading that fateful incantation that turned her into a witch, brought her to her destiny.

Then she moved onto demons. Every single one they encountered. From vanquishing Jeremy the warlock (Piper's boyfriend) to helping a ghost moving on (one that Piper fell in love with), to discovering who Leo really was. That sent Jason for a reel. He couldn't believe Leo was a dead guardian angel. She even explained Andy's death, Piper's decision of Dan over Leo, and the other various relationships the girls had.

I was great seeing his reaction about Cole. "You knew he was a demon?"

"Yes, but I loved him anyway." It was kind of cute, seeing Jason jealous.

As Phoebe finished telling him about the time she was turned into a banshee and Prue into a dog, Jason laughed. "Phoebe, you could publish a book larger than the bible. You've had enough adventures to fill a newspaper with articles forever."

Phoebe didn't laugh. She looked down at her food. "That's actually not funny..." Phoebe went on to explain about being exposed as witches and her being in the underworld with Cole as one of her sisters died. "But Prue, being the amazing big sister she was, wasn't going to let Piper die with out a fight." Phoebe had tears in her eyes. By the time she finished explaining about the time reversal and how she and Leo were too late to save Prue, the tears were flowing freely. Jason leaned over the table and squeezed her hand.

"You have seen so much. Not just as a witch, either."

She was going to move on to what happened after Prue's death, but her cell phone rang. _Please don't let it be about a demon_, she pleaded. "Hello?" she said into the phone. After listening for a bit, she concluded, "don't worry about it. I'll give you a call in a few." She turned and faced Jason. "Family--"

"—emergency," he finished for her. "Phoebe, cut the crap. You don't have to use that excuse any more. You can tell me the truth."

"Jason, I actually am," she said, a little offended. "I'm sorry I have to leave, but--"

"You don't have to explain, really." Jason held up his hand to signal for the check.

His attitude was pissing Phoebe off. "You know what? You said you wanted to know everything, so here you go. My nephew Chris is back from the future because something bad is going on. The kind of bad that sounds like one of us is dead in the future, and we need to fix it."

Jason held up a hand. "Fine. I'm coming with you."

"No, you should go home."

"No, Phoebe. I said I wanted to know everything about your life and this is it. I'm coming and you can't stop me."

"Fine. Do you remember what I told you about orbing...?"

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Leo heard Phoebe's call. "Phoebe's calling. She's bringing Jason with her. Do you want to come with me Chris?"

"Sure. He stood up and tried to orb, but he went no where. "I can't orb."

"What?" Piper looked at him and a thought popped into her head. "The baby..."

"What about the baby?"

"The baby has powers now, so you can't use yours."

"This just sucks." Chris sat down again and Leo orbed out to get Phoebe.

He returned a few seconds later with Phoebe who ran to Chris and gave him a big hug, and Jason, who clutched his stomach and sat down. "There goes dinner..."

"Give it a minute or two," Paige advised. "So Chris, details, _now_."

"What about him?" he asked, indicating Jason.

"He's alright. I've told him everything about us."

"Phoebe!"

"What, Piper? He already knew about us. He may as know all of it."

"But..."

Chris stood up and mad a T with his hands. "Alright, people. Time out. There is enough time to argue later, when we get back from the future."

"Future? Whose going to the future?" Jason asked.

"One rule, Buddy," Piper told him, "you are not allowed to ask questions right now. After we get this straightened out you can ask Phoebe what ever you like."

"Piper, be nice."

"I am. Now what were you saying Chris?"

"I need Phoebe and Paige to go to the future and try to talk some sense into themselves."

"Why? What about Piper?" Leo asked and piper nodded her head.

"That's the problem."

"Care to explain?"

"Not really."

"Too bad. No secrets, remember?"

Chris sighed. He hated that he made that promise. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time. Now he wasn't so sure. Oh, well. It's too late now. "Fine? You want the truth? The problem is Mom and I are dead, Leo and Wyatt are up in Elderland, and Paige and Phoebe have turned from good magic to find the demon that killed Piper."

The room was silent for a few minutes. Then Phoebe broke the silence. "We're evil?"

"No. You've just turned from good magic. You still vanquish demons, just not in the most ethical ways. Oh, yeah. And you think I'm a demon and have repeatedly tried to kill me."

"Tried to kill you?" Phoebe squeaked.

"Yep."

Leo stood up, looking like the all-powerful Elder he was about to un-become. Piper felt a little guilty, but not much. "So what do you propose we do?" Leo asked.

"We go to the future. Paige and Phoebe won't listen to me, but they may to you."

"Or we may try to kill ourselves," Paige muttered.

She was ignored. "Chris, is going to the future the only way to find out what happened?"

"Yes. We need to find out what happens quickly, because I was only a month old when I died."

The room was silent. "Why? How old am I now?" Chris asked, close to panic.

"Don't worry. You're not even born yet," Piper assured him. "Do you know how you were killed?"

"No."

"Well, I guess the only way to find out is to go to the future," Piper told the group.

"I'll start the potion," Phoebe said and stood up and walked to Jason. "Sorry about all this. I'll call you when I get back." She kissed him and turned around, but he grabbed her arm.

"You be careful, okay?" He kissed her again. And again. And again...

Piper cleared her throat. "A little professionalism, people." She began to shoo everybody but Phoebe and Jason out of the room. "Chris, help me with the time-travel potion, Paige, make some all purpose demon vanquishing potions, and Leo, go check on Wyatt." Piper was the last one to leave the room and gave Phoebe a wink as she left.

"No the most subtle way, but it worked," Jason said and kissed Phoebe again.

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Leo followed Piper down the stairs. Halfway down, he made her face him. he took in her pale face and realized how much this stuff was worrying her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Really. I'm getting quite use to the idea I let my son die. Even more to the fact that I die."

"Piper..." Leo held her close in his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he rubbed her hair and rocked her back and forth.

"We'll fix this. I promise. We always do."

"But what if we can't?"

"We will," Leo said seriously.

"You don't know that. Something happened to Mom, then Grams, and then Prue. Who are you to say something won't happen to me?"

"Piper, don't talk like that. You have your sisters and me to make sure nothing happens to you."

"Yeah, well in the future it doesn't seem to have worked out to well."

"Piper, you listen to me. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know that. But what about Chris?"

"What about him?"

"Leo, we let him die in the future."

"We'll change that."

"But what if we don't? I feel like such a horrible mother."

"Why? You know that's not true."

"Don't I? Leo, our oldest child becomes the source of all evil, while our youngest is some time-traveling secret keeper with a major inferiority complex to his brother. Remind me of what I'm doing right!"

"Piper, the boys love you. You are not to blame for what happens to them in the future. If anyone is, it's me. I wasn't there for them when they needed me the most."

"Leo..." Leo kissed her to shut her up.

Phoebe walked down the stairs with Jason and cleared her throat. "I'm just lovin' the professionalism, Piper."

Piper stuck her tong out at her. The four headed to the kitchen where Chris and Paige were preparing potions. "There you guys are," Paige said, throwing some mandrake root into the potion. "I thought we were going to have to send a search party for you." Paige looked at her suggestively.

"No such luck. Now what are we making here?" Piper asked, changing the subject.

"I am making all-purpose demon vanquish while Chris is _trying_ to make the time-traveling potion."

"Let me do it," Piper said, gently prying the spoon from Chris' hand.

"I hate to be a bother, but could someone do that little blue-shiny-transportation thingy..."

"Orbing," everyone replied.

"Okay. Could some orb me back to the restaurant? My car is still there."

"I will," Leo volunteered. He grabbed Jason's hand and got ready to orb, but Piper stopped him.

"Leo, will you take Wyatt to magic school? I have a bag ready for him on the rocking chair. Take his light blue blanket and booties." She set down the spoon. "I'll go get him ready."

"Piper, I can do it. Finish the potion. I'll be back in a few." He and Jason walked upstairs.

"But..." Piper said and looked down at the potion.

"Piper, you have really got to learn how to chill," Paige told her.

"Leo's back now, honey. You can let him take care of the kids now," Phoebe informed her.

"It's not that. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Why am I always the one who dies?"

"What do you mean?"

"Phoebe, you're the one who is turned evil, Paige is the one who is put under spells, and I'm the one who always dies."

"Piper, that's not true."

"Yeah, it is. You better watch out, Phoebe; you may be next. It seems the Charmed Ones die by seniority." Piper let out a bitter laugh.

"Piper, don't talk like that. We'll fix this. We always do."

"But that's the point. We always have to fix my dying. It's not that fact I don't believe we can, because I know we can, but the fact that we even have to scares me. What if what happens to Prue happens again? If you guys hadn't turned back time, I would be dead and Prue would be alive."

Phoebe firmly put her hands on Piper's arm. "We are _not_ going to let what happened to Prue happen to you."

"I know that. But I also thought I would never let anything happen to you or Prue. I let her down."

"Piper, you need to let that go. I wasn't your fault. It was Shax. If we hadn't reset time, you would have been dead and do you really think the CIA would have let Prue live? I would have lost both of you. Piper, losing Prue was hard enough. I promise on my life I will let nothing happen to you. I promise." She put her arms around Piper."

Paige, who always felt left out when they discussed Prue, came and joined the hug. "Chris came back for a reason, you know. It's to save you. Now if we want him to succeed, you're going to have to help." Piper looked at her. "The potion's boiling over."

Piper raced to save the soupy mess that would hopefully save her life.

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When Leo orbed back into the manor, minus Jason and Wyatt, he found Chris in the attic drawing a Triquetra while the girls were downstairs concocting potions. "Hey. What's up?" Leo asked him.

"Oh, nothing. Just trying to save my family once again. You know, the normal stuff."

"That's not what I meant. I meant how are you guys progressing with the time-traveling?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "I'm almost done with the Triquetra and the girls are working on the potion." He turned his back to Leo and continued drawing on the wall.

"Chris, if you want to talk..."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"I think there is."

"Okay. You want to talk? Fine. I come to the past to save my little brother from turning evil. I go back and he is literally a little angel, but my mother and I are dead. But you want to know something, Leo? There is something I didn't tell the first time I came back. Mom, she was dead. This is the second time I'm trying to save her. I won't let her die again. I promise." Chris finished her rant.

Neither Chris or Leo saw Piper behind them. "You're not the only one who's promised that. Now are we going to do this or what?"

"Mom, I'm sorry. I never meant for you too..."

Piper held up her hand. "It's okay. I'm over it."

"You're over the fact you're dead in the future?" Leo asked.

"Hey, it happens to everyone sometime. I guess it was my time."

"Yeah. _Was_," Paige said empathetically. "But that's going to change."

"Alright. Enough chit-chat, people. Are we going do this?"

"Yeah. Let's go. I have the return spell. " Phoebe, Paige and Piper formed a half circle in front of the Triquetra. Leo and Chris stood behind them. Phoebe arced back her hand and threw the potion at the wall. It opened into a large, swirling blue portal. Holding hands, the three sisters held hands and walked through the portal, Chris and Leo close behind them.

They ended up back in the attic. It looked like the attic, only less cluttered and very dusty. An older Paige and an older Phoebe, both dressed in black, were waiting for them.

"I told you he'd be back," Paige snarled, hurling a potion at Chris.

"NO!" Piper yelled and threw up her hands. The bottle stopped in mid-air.

Paige and Phoebe's jaws dropped. "Piper?" Phoebe whispered.

"Yes."

"Oh. My. God." Paige and Phoebe ran to her and had her enveloped in a hug. "I can't believe it. It's actually Piper."

"And us too. Phoebe and Paige," present Phoebe said.

Their future selves glared at them, drawing Piper away from the time traveling group. They made sure Piper was behind them and future Phoebe took a step forward. "You don't deserve her."

"What do you mean?" present Paige asked.

"This is what I mean," future Phoebe said and took a closer step to past Phoebe. "You murdering bitch."

And she punched her. Squarely in the jaw.

Authors note: I hope you liked. I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed, your comments have been great. Feel free to give suggest about what you think should happen. Next chapter: Why is future Phoebe so mad at present Phoebe? What dark secrets are being hid in the future? Read on to find out. Please read and review.


	11. Darkness of the Future

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Chapter 11: Darkness of the Future

"This is what I mean," future Phoebe said and took a closer step to past Phoebe. "You murdering bitch."

And she punched her. Squarely in the jaw.

"Phoebe!" Piper squealed at her future little sister. She went to present Phoebe's side and looked at her face. "Are you alright. Stupid question, I know."

With Piper's help, Phoebe stood up and looked her self in the face. "What the hell was that for? Why do you think I murdered someone?"

"Because you did."

"What did she do?" Paige asked.

"Shut up," future Paige barked at her. "It was your fault too."

"Me?! What did I do?"

Piper held up her hands between the arguing parties. "Alright. Hold it people. We are having a major intervention. Future witches, that corner, present witches, over there. Leo, Chris, and I will be acting as mediators. No one is to say anything without our permission, alright. Glad you agree," Piper said, not waiting for a reply.

"Wait. Chris, as in your son Chris?" future Phoebe asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"He's alive?"

"Clearly."

"So we've been trying to kill the real Chris, not a demon?"

"Yeah," Chris said bitterly.

"Sorry we tried to kill you," Paige apologized. "There is a shape-shifter who likes to take form as people we know to try to get us to trust him. We thought you were him."

"See, in our time, baby Chris died, so we assumed big Chris died too. How could he not have?"

"It's the time-traveling thing," Chris explained. "In the present, I'm not born yet, and that was the time I left in. So when I came to the future, I didn't die because I'm technically not even born yet."

"Stupid time-traveling," both Paige's said.

"Alright. Can we get back to the matter at hand? How did Piper and Chris die?" Leo asked.

"There was, _is_, a demon, a very powerful demon. One that can't be vanquished without the Power of Three, which no longer exists."

"It's hard to explain what happened, really. There was a lot of confusion and everyone was running every which way. Some where in the middle of it, Piper pushed Phoebe down to protect her from the demon. Next thing we knew, Piper was dead."

Everyone was silent and looked at Piper who looked at the floor. "At least I was protecting one of my sisters," she mumbled.

"Piper..." both Phoebes said, but neither could comfort their sister.

"There's something I think you should see," future Paige said to them. "Leo! Wyatt!"

Two figures emerged out of swirling blue lights. One was a sandy-haired man that everyone immediately recognized as Leo, but the other man was a stranger. He was taller than the other man, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Wyatt?" Piper asked and he turned around to face her.

"Mom?" he asked, staring at Piper in surprise. "Mom!" he yelled and swooped Piper in to a huge bear hug. "You're alive!"

Piper awkwardly hugged him back. She didn't recognize this boy as her almost two-year-old son. The resemblance was there, but it still didn't seem as her little boy, Wyatt.

He released her and future Leo took a step towards her. "Piper," he said and held out a hand, but Leo, _her_ Leo, put a protective hand on her shoulder. Future Leo dropped his hand and was content just looking at Piper.

"I hate to break up this little love fest," future Phoebe said, after a hug from her nephew, "but we need you to orb us somewhere."

"Aunt Phoebe, you know we are not allowed to orb you anywhere since you aren't practice good magic anymore."

"We know, Wyatt," Paige said. "We need you to orb them."

"Why?" present Paige asked. "We can orb ourselves."

"No you can't. Your future selves have your powers, so you don't have any. Piper only has hers because she is dead."

Future Paige conferred with Leo and Wyatt for a moment, and then grabbed future Phoebe's hand. Leo and Wyatt grabbed various hands of the time-traveling group and orbed them out.

They arrived at a cemetery, in front of two tombstones, each bearing a name.

"Piper Halliwell. Christopher Halliwell," Paige read off of the stones.

Chris studied the inscription on the headstone, _his_ headstone, intently. It took a few seconds for the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place, but the idea finally clicked into his head. "There's something wrong with this date. It says I died a month before Mom did."

"We never said you were both killed by the same demon," Phoebe said sadly.

"Then which demon killed me?"

"You weren't killed by a demon. You were killed by something much worse."

"What was it?" Piper asked.

"This is the real reason we brought you here," Phoebe said, holding up a tooth she had picked up from Piper's grave.

"What is that?!" present Paige exclaimed.

"A tooth from the demon that killed Piper."

"But not Chris," Piper said, interrupting.

Phoebe continued on, ignoring her. "I'm not going into details about how we got it; it involves a few dodgy tricks, a failed potion, and quite a few scars." As for emphasis, Paige lowered her shirt sleeve so they could see the large scars running down her shoulder. She pulled her sleeve back up.

For the first time, future Phoebe took a step towards herself in a non-threaten manner. She put the tooth in Phoebe's hand and curled her fingers around it. "Promise me you will find the demon that did this and kill it."

"I promise," Phoebe said without hesitation. Future Phoebe stepped back towards future Paige.

"We should get you guys back to your own time. The longer you are here, the more danger you are in."

Everyone was orbed back to the dusty attic of the manor. Once there, Phoebe handed her future self the return spell. Future Phoebe read it over. "Good wording. Couldn't have done better myself." She gave Phoebe a smile, who in turn laughed.

Chris began to draw a Triquetra on the wall, the symbol that would the portal back to the present. The spell was to open the portal between time realms. "I'm getting pretty good at drawing this," he joked, referring to all the time-traveling he has done. When he was finished, he put the chalk down and went back to the group.

After a round of tear-filled hugs good bye, Leo, Chris, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige all stood in a group near each other, while future Phoebe and Paige held hands and began to recite the spell:

_Doors of time open wide,_

_From time nothing can hide,_

_Take them back to where they belong,_

_It is time to say so-long._

The Triquetra behind them erupted in swirling color. Future Phoebe, Paige, and Wyatt gave Piper one last hug good bye. "Take care, Mom" Wyatt whispered in her ear.

"I will." She took a step back and smiled at them. Leo, _her_ Leo, grabbed her hand and began to lead her towards the portal.

But a loud roar interrupted them. It grew louder and louder until the whole house began to shake.

"What is that?"

"It the demon! You have to go! Now!" Leo and Wyatt orbed out and Paige and Phoebe took up a fighting stance. "Leave! Hurry!"

The house began to rumble more. In a moment of panic, Phoebe turned around and shoved Piper, who was in front of Phoebe, Paige, Leo, and Chris, into the portal. In turn, Piper ended up pushing the others with her into the portal.

But in that moment of panic, Phoebe left Paige alone, susceptible to the demon. As Piper swirled though the portal, she saw a blob of green throw Paige across the room. Piper tried to call out to Phoebe, but she couldn't.

When all five of them arrived back in their times, they were thrown across the attic with great force. Leo was the first to recover; he stood up and asked, "Is everyone okay?"

"Physically," Paige said, standing up.

"I'm kind of iffy on that," Phoebe said rubbing her shoulder. "But I'll be fine."

Chris stood up. "I'm fine."

Leo looked around for Piper, but didn't see her. "Piper?" Where was she? Did she make it through the portal? "Piper?!" he cried out, worried.

"Over here!" she called, buried beneath some boxes. Leo ran to her and helped her up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, giving her a hand.

"More or less. What was that thing?" she asked once she was standing.

"I don't know, but I'm glade everyone's alright," Leo said, holding Piper close. For a few seconds he thought he had lost her. That was a feeling he hated, but one that happened too often, especially lately.

"Future Phoebe and Paige aren't," Piper said quietly. Nobody said anything.

Phoebe finally broke the silence. "Let's go get some sleep. We have a demon to vanquish in the morning."


	12. The Menatar

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Chapter 12: The Menatar

It was two in the morning, and Phoebe and Paige were in the attic, looking up the demon. Leo was with the Elders and Piper was asleep in her bed. Phoebe, unable to sleep, came up to the attic, followed soon by Paige. Both were to worried about Piper and Chris to sleep.

"Why haven't we indexed this thing?!" Phoebe exclaimed, after flipping trough the book three times and finding no useful information.

"I tried, remember? But Piper got mad and took them off."

"I don't think post it flags were what she had in mind. I give up!" Phoebe slammed the book shut and immediately reopened it to continue her search.

"Phoebe, that is our heritage there."

"I know that. Why are you telling me?"

"Because." She walked over to her sister and grabbed her hand. She slowly pried her hand off of the page, leaving the page crinkled.

"Oh. Sorry about that. I just feel like we aren't doing enough. I feel like we are sitting back and letting Piper die, as we presumably do in the future."

"We are not letting Piper die. We are trying to save her." Paige began to flip thorough the book. "Hey. This looks like something."

Phoebe looked over Paige's shoulder as she read, "Menatar. A particularly nasty demon with the power to breathe fire and become invisible. Only magical people and those who believe in magic can see this monstrous demon. He hides in plain sight and announces his arrival by a monstrous roar."

"That sounds like the demon from the future."

"It _looks_ like that demon, too. Piper said she saw something green before we came back. And," Paige said, picking up the tooth future Phoebe had given them, "this tooth looks like it could belong to that ugly mouth." Paige indicated the picture to the right, one with a monstrous green demon and sharp teeth. The demon looked as if it had been melted a reformed. Its facial features were in all the wrong spots and it looked as if it had a hide that could stop bullets.

Just then, Leo orbed in, holding a sleeping Wyatt in his arms. "Leo!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I thought you were back already," Phoebe said, referring to the fact her went up there earlier to talk to the Elders and get Wyatt.

"No," he said, switching Wyatt to his other shoulder. "I just got back. The Elders are making plans for the power forwarding ceremony. I also told them about the demon. They are concerned. Very concerned. Anything in the book?"

"Actually, yes. We think this is the demon." Paige turned the book around so Leo could see the entry.

"Boy that thing is ugly," a voice behind them said. Paige snapped her head up to see Piper a few feet behind Leo.

"Uh, Piper! Hi! We were just, um..."

"Looking for the demon who kills me? It's okay, really. I couldn't sleep either. I woke up and went to check on Wyatt, only to find he wasn't there," she said, taking him from Leo. "I'll put him to bed and be up in a few minutes." She turned around and headed out of the attic.

"She's taking this amazingly well," Phoebe commented.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Leo said. When the girls looked at him questioningly, he explained, "Piper's not one just to accept something. She's a fighter. Always has been. I think she's in denial."

"Well, the only way to fix that is to vanquish this demon, Phoebe said, pulling the book towards her. As she did, she was rocked by a premonition.

_The Menatar headed towards a bed. Someone was in the bed, fast asleep. Sensing someone there, the person, a man, woke up. He saw the Menatar and began to run. He barely avoided a stream of fire that was projected from the monster's mouth. He ran out of his house onto a dark, quiet street. A sign on the street corner read _Randolph_. The man ran, barefoot, clad only in boxers and a t-shirt, down the deserted street. The monster soon caught up and the man was no longer nothing but a scorch mark on the street... _

"What did you see?" Paige asked. When Phoebe explained the premonition to them, all Paige could say was, "Oh."

"I think we need to get started on a vanquishing potion. Fast," Leo said and they began to gather supplies.

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Piper gently laid Wyatt down in his crib, careful not to wake her sleeping child. She gently smoothed down his hair and he stirred under her touch. "Shhh," Piper whispered to him. "Go back to sleep." He immediately settled down and went back to sleep. Piper tip-toed out of his room.

She shut the door and turned around and let out a scream of surprise. "Chris! Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry."

"Where have you been?" Piper asked, sitting on the bed.

"He shrugged his shoulders. "Walking around. I tried to orb, but I forgot I have no powers now."

Piper looked at Chris. This was her son, the son she was pregnant with. "I understand now."

Chris looked confused. "Understand what?"

Piper smiled, as if remembering a fond moment. "I understand how my mother felt." Upon Chris' confused look, she elaborated. "One time, Prue, Phoebe, and I traveled into the past to stop a demon. In the past, Prue and I were very little and Phoebe wasn't even born yet. I remember the way my mom looked at Phoebe when she saw her. That's how I feel now."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"A very good thing," Piper assured him. "I wouldn't change this for anything in the world."

"Let's see if you say the same thing in sixteen years," Chris commented and Piper laughed.

Chris suddenly became silent and Piper looked at him. "What do you think killed me?" he blurted out. "If it wasn't a demon..."

Piper sighed a faced him. "I don't know, honey. In this family, it could be anything."

"But demons just seem to be the likely cause."

"Yes, they do. But in this family we tend to forget there are other bad things out there except for demons. Murders, diseases, kidnappers... I sometimes think the normal world has worse people than the demonic one."

"So it could have been anything?"

"Yeah. But don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll bet my life on that."

"Don't say that. You may just end up doing that."

Piper didn't say anything. She just pulled him into a hug and held him. After a while she said, "Don't worry about that. Your dad and aunts won't let anything happen to us. I have faith in that and so should you."

"I do. And I also know everything happens for a reason and destiny gets its way, no matter what. I just hope this is one event that can be changed."

Piper and Chris soon joined the others in the attic, and were surprised to find the others bustling around, creating potions. "Whoa. What did I miss?" Piper asked. After Phoebe explained the premonition and what they read in the book, Piper asked, "When are we going?"

"Right now," Paige said, bottling the last potion and handed it to Piper, taking her hand, ready to orb her.

"Chris, stay with Wyatt, please," Piper told him a Chris gave her a salute in agreement.

Paige orbed them to the house Phoebe believed to be the one from her premonition. They had been unable to scry accurately with the tooth; it kept jumping from place to place as if the demon couldn't make up it's mind where it was going.

They tip-toed the bedroom door and heard no noises. Phoebe cracked open the door a bit and turned around to face her sisters. "What's the matter?" Paige asked.

"In my premonition he was wearing his boxers," Phoebe said. "I don't think he would appreciate it if..."

"That is the least of our worries," Piper said, pushing her through the door way. As soon as she did, a rumbling came through the house, followed closely by a loud roar.

The man woke up and sat up in bed. Upon seeing them he exclaimed, "What the hell?!"

And hell did appear. In a sense anyway. The monster-demon thing appeared, from the melted features to the ugly green hide.

"Paige! Orb him out! NOW!" Piper yelled as the demon let out another roar. Paige didn't have time to orb the innocent out, due to the fat he hid under the bed.

The towering demon took a deep breath and let out a stream of fire form its mouth. Phoebe dove out of the way, but Piper, in the middle of the path, had no where to go. She put her hands up for protection. But what good would that do against fire?

Apparently a lot. The fire telekinetically changed course from Piper. Phoebe and Paige quickly ran to Piper's side to help.

"Nice job, sis."

Holding the fire back was beginning to take a toll on Piper. "Any mass vanquishes?" She asked in a broken voice.

Phoebe and Paige threw their potions at the demon, but they had no effect. The demon didn't even flinch.

"No," Phoebe said in reply to Piper's earlier question.

Piper put one hand down by her side, causing the fire to come closer to them. "Let's not do that again," Paige suggested.

Piper ignored her and used her one free hand to try and blow the demon up. Nothing happened. Next, she tried to freeze him, but it was no use. "My powers are useless," she told them. "On the count of three, Paige roll left and Phoebe right. One, two, three!" Paige rolled to the left and Phoebe and Piper went to the right. The stream of fire the demon had been relentlessly aiming at the girls soared forward, catching the curtains on fire.

Paige orbed to her sister's side. "_As you goodness grows, defeat this evil foe!_" Paige yelled over the roar of fire. The demon stopped as if he had been suddenly hit. Once again there was rumbling a roaring as the demon left.

"As our goodness grows?" Phoebe asked.

"Defeat this evil foe?" Piper repeated, freezing the curtain that was on fire.

"What did you expect? I didn't plan a spell because I thought the potion would work!"

"Well, I wasn't expecting the demon to be immune to my powers either. Did either of you read anything about that in the book?"

"Yeah, we did and just forgot to mention it to you," Paige said sarcastically.

"Alright. Sorry I asked. Can we get the innocent back to the manor? I think I'm going to be sick." Piper put her hand over her stomach and her sister orbed her home.

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"Thank God you are alright!" Leo exclaimed when he saw them orb in. he grabbed Piper and swung her into a huge hug.

"Leo.." Piper said, feeling as if she were going to throw up on him. He set her down and she ran out of the attic.

Leo looked at Phoebe in confusion. "Morning sickness, Leo." A look of understand swept over his face. The innocent, who had been watching the scene in front of him, suddenly passed out. Leo went over to him and checked his pulse, but let him sleep on. The last thing they needed was a troublesome innocent on their hands.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you Leo, but why are you so happy to see us?"

"Because I thought you may have gotten yourselves killed," Leo said, a pinch of reprimanding in his voice.

"Okay, I'll bite. What did we do?" Paige asked.

"There was another page in the book. One I'm assuming you didn't read."

"What? There was only the page with info and the page with the picture."

"Wrong. If you look at the bottom of the page, it says 'turn the page'." Leo walked over rot he book a showed them.

"It just gives some more information about the witches he has killed. And about the fact he is immune to powers, spells, and potions."

"What?!" Phoebe exclaimed, stomping over to the book and looking at the page. "Oh my God. We could have gotten Piper killed."

"No wonder we blame ourselves in the future. We probably did the same thing then."

"Well, we can't think of that now. The most important thing is that we kick this demon's ass and get back to our lives."

Piper soon returned to the attic, and the others immediately told her what they had missed about the demon. "Oh great," she replied. "So which one of you geniuses forgot to read the book all of the way?"

"Sorry," Paige said with a bit of an attitude. "There is normally just a page of info and a picture. Excuse me for being too stupid to turn the page!"

"Alright! No more arguing," Phoebe intervened. "Arguing will not help us now. Leo, did the book say anything about a vanquish?"

"No, but the Elders did. I checked with them after I looked in the book and couldn't sense you guys. They believe a Power of Three spell can to the trick."

"But I thought the demon was immune to spells," Paige said.

"Paige, when are you ever going to learn that we are the only ones on Earth that seem to be able to vanquish an unvanquishable demon?"

"Or any demon, for that matter," Phoebe added, getting a laugh from everyone.

"Alright. Who wants to do the Power of Three spell?"

"I will," Phoebe volunteered and walked to the table to grab a pen and paper.

"Uh, Phoebe..."

"What?"

"When did you get so tall?"

"What do you mean?"

"This is what I mean," Piper said, standing next to her. She put her hand to her head and measured herself to Phoebe. Her hand came to Phoebe's mid-chest. "I know I'm shorter than you, but not _this_ short. So either you're growing or I'm shrinking."

Paige measured herself against Phoebe and only came to her chin. "Okay. Something is definitely wrong.

"Like your little spell?"

"Can we please get off of that?"

"No. I think your spell did this. The line 'As our goodness grows' must have backfired, making _Phoebe_ grow."

"I'm sorry," Paige apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I always wanted to be taller." As for emphasis, she hiccupped and grew another inch.

"Uh-oh. We better find a reversal spell. Fast," Piper said.

"I'll check the book," Phoebe volunteered. The book was already open to the page on the Menatar, so when Phoebe touched it she was rocked by a premonition.

Piper and Paige, recognizing the expression on their sister's face all too well, asked, "What did you see?"

"A man being attacked by the Menatar."

"When?"

"At night, so let's go."

"We have to reverse the spell," Paige protested.

"No time," Piper said, grabbing her hand.

Paige orbed them to Phoebe's location, only to find themselves standing in once was a house.

Before it was burnt to the ground. Phoebe gasped in surprise as the charred wood made a crunching noise beneath her feet. What... how... my premonition..." She hiccupped and sprouted another inch in height.

"Come on," Paige said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get you home and reverse that spell."

"I wonder if spell had anything to do with my premonition being messed up." Phoebe knew something was wrong with her premonition. Her and her sisters had left immediately after she had the premonition. Why hadn't they gotten here in time? Her premonitions always gave her enough time to solve the problem, so why hadn't this one? The spell gone wrong was the only reason she could think of.

"Uh, you guys!" Piper called from the other side of the burnt house.

"Yeah?" Paige asked, coming over to where Piper stood. "What's..." She let out a scream.

In front of them sat the charred remains of what once a human being.

"Oh God. I think I'm going to be sick. Paige, get us out of here." Piper pleaded, one hand on her stomach.

Paige grabbed Piper and Phoebe's hands and orbed them out of the horrific scene and into the manor, after which Piper raced to the bathroom and threw up her dinner.

Meanwhile, Paige and Phoebe went up into the attic to reverse the spell. Phoebe had now gotten so tall she whapped her head on the door frame entering the attic. They saw Leo talking to the innocent, who seemed very calm after his feinting episode.

Leo saw them, stood up, and asked, "Where's Piper?"

"In the bathroom," Phoebe replied, hiccupping and growing another inch.

"Being sick," Paige added.

"So how did it go?" Leo asked.

"Not so good," Phoebe said, looking at the floor. "We were too late."

"See, I old you they wouldn't be able to stop it. No one can," the innocent said.

"Now wait a minute. Just who do you think you are?" Phoebe asked, getting angry.

Leo held up his hand. "Phoebe, Paige, this is Stephen Basil. He's had dealings with the Menatar before."

"Dealings?" Paige questioned.

"The demon killed my wife seven years ago. Are you satisfied?"

"I'm so sorry," Paige said sincerely.

"Yeah, well..."

But he didn't get a chance to finish, because Piper walked into the attic holding Wyatt. "Alright people," Piper said with a new steely resolve, "this demon is pissing me off. I want him vanquished now. Leo," she said, handing him Wyatt. "Take Wyatt to magic school. Paige, work on the reversal spell for Phoebe. Phoebe, you work on a Power of Three spell for vanquishing this demon while I scry for him. Okay people, let's get started."

Everyone began doing the jobs Piper assigned them until the innocent cried out, "Are you guys stupid?!"

"Excuse me?" Piper asked offensively.

"I already told you that you can't vanquish this thing! Why do you insist on getting yourselves killed?"

"I don't know who you think you are..." Piper began, but the innocent, Steve, cut her off.

"I'm out of here. If you want to get yourselves killed, that's fine with me. But I'm not going to die with you." He began walking out of the attic, but Piper froze him.

"Well, at least we know he's not a good witch," Paige said, referring to the fact Piper couldn't freeze good witches.

"Thank God." Piper sighed with relief. "What is that guy's problem?"

"The Menatar killed his wife. And his name is Steve, by the way."

"Phoebe? Just finish the spell."

"Okay."

They worked strongly for the next half-hour, with Piper having to sporadically freeze Steve again. They were almost done when Leo orbed in, interrupting their progress. "How's it going?" he asked.

"I'm done," Paige cried out.

"Me too," Phoebe followed suit.

"Scrying isn't getting us anywhere. He isn't in this realm, so we'll have to rely on Phoebe for a premonition."

Phoebe, who just hiccupped and grew anther inch quickly said, "Let's reverse this spell before I'm too tall to stand in the attic." She was now over a good seven feet tall.

Paige took a deep breath and began to recite her reversal spell, and Phoebe returned to normal size.

"Do you think it worked a little too well?" Phoebe asked, measuring herself to Paige. "I would have been happy an inch or two taller." The others laughed.

"Here's the vanquishing spell," Phoebe said, handing each of her sisters a copy. "Let's go kick this demon's ass."

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Piper, Leo, Paige, and Phoebe arrived in some company warehouse after a premonition of Phoebe's indicating the Menatar would attack here next.

"I don't see anyone," Paige whispered, her voice echoing in the empty building.

"Well, we're not leaving until we find the little girl from my premonition." It had been a particularly ugly one, as Phoebe recalled.

They began wandering around the rows of boxes in the warehouse, looking for some clue that someone was here.

Leo, his curiosity getting the better of him, opened one of the boxes to see what was inside of it. It was a box of oxygen tanks, the kind used in hospitals to help people breath. Leo looked at them, wondering why they gave him an uneasy feeling.

Then the familiar rumbling echoed throughout the warehouse. The Menatar was on his way. It was them Leo figured out why the oxygen tanks gave him an uneasy feeling.

"We have to get out of here!" he yelled to the girls.

"Are you crazy? Let's vanquish this demon and get it over with."

"No! We have to go NOW!"

"Why," Paige questioned, the rumbling growing louder.

"There are oxygen tanks in those boxes!"

The girls looked at him in confusion.

"Oxygen tanks plus a fire breathing demon equals one huge explosion!" Looks of understanding swept over their faces as they hurried to orb. Paige grabbed Piper's hand as Leo grabbed Phoebe's.

Just as they were orbing, Piper heard a little voice cry out, "Help! Help me!" She quickly ripped her hand out of Paige's, and began to frantically look for the little girl as the others orbed to safety. She found the little girl, about eleven years old, huddled in the corner. She was crying, and Piper quickly helped her to her feet and ran for the back exit she noticed earlier. As they ran, the Menatar appeared behind them and let out a stream of fire from its mouth.

It hit the boxes and the oxygen tanks exploded, turning the building into a blazing inferno. With Piper and the little girl inside.


	13. Blazing Inferno

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Chapter 13: Blazing Inferno

Paige, Leo, and Phoebe were orbed to safety out of the building. Leo looked at Paige and asked "Where's Piper?"

"She ripped her hand out of mine! I have to go back for her!" Paige began to orb but an explosion rocked the ground beneath her. The warehouse had just caught fire, with Piper and the little girl inside. Paige watched in horror as the fire kept getting larger and larger, gaining more power.

"Piper!" Leo screamed, attempting to orb back in for Piper, but was stopped by Paige and Phoebe. "Let go of me!"

"Leo, you can't do anything now," Phoebe said, tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to believe it. Not Piper. Piper couldn't be dead. Leo broke down crying in her arms and she just held him, looking at the Blazing Inferno that Piper was in. As she looked at it, she saw something odd. She knew what it was and she happily exclaimed, "Look! Over there!"

Leo and Paige looked into the direction she was indicating and saw a portion of the fire wasn't moving. It was frozen.

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Piper saw the Menatar materialize behind them, and as he took a breath to breath fire, Piper threw herself and the little girl to the floor, making sure the little girl was safely underneath her. As the Menatar blew out a stream of fire, making the oxygen tanks explode, Piper froze the fire that raged over them. The little girl screamed, but Piper but a hand over her mouth and indicated the little girl to follow her as she crawled to the exit. The smoke was stinging her eyes, making them water and difficult to see out of. The smoke was thick, making it hard to breathe. But Piper pressed on, determined to find the back door. Just as she was going to turn around and see if they missed the exit, her hand touched something scorching hot, burning her hand. Piper felt up a little higher and felt the doorknob. They had found the back door, but it was too hot to touch. So Piper made sure the little girl was safely behind her and flicked her wrists. The door exploded, Allowing Piper and the girl to stumble into breathable air and into the wait arms of Leo.

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"Piper!" Leo cried out, running to the building, Paige and Phoebe close on his heels. They ran to the back of the building, and as the reached the door, it exploded open and Piper and the little girl stumbled out, coughing. Leo wrapped Piper into a huge hug, almost suffocating her.

"Leo?" she asked, coughing.

"Yeah?" he replied, hugging her closer.

"I can't breathe."

"Oh," he said, releasing her. "Sorry."

Paige and Phoebe were kneeling next to the little girl, who was continuously coughing. Piper looked at her and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." She let out a cough. "Thanks."

"No problem. Let's get out of here. I have a demon to vanquish."

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When they orbed back to the manor, they discovered Chris, who they asked to keep an eye Steve, arguing with the innocent on the stairs.

"What is going on here?" Piper asked.

"Someone," Chris said pointedly at Steve, "insists on trying to escape while you guys were out trying to save his ass."

"I told you guys, you can't vanquish it," Steve shouted. For the first time since their arrival, Steve looked at the group that just orbed in. His eyes settled on the little girl and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Melanie?" he asked, astonished.

The little girl replied, "Hello, Dad."


	14. Innocents With Secrets

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Chapter 14: Innocents with Secrets

"Dad?" Phoebe repeated. "This is your dad?"

"Yes," Melanie replied.

"Oh great," Chris mumbled. "This just keeps getting better and better. It's like a damned soap opera around here." Paige slapped him on the back of the head. "What?!" he exclaimed, but Paige just gave him a look.

"So you guys are father and daughter?" Leo clarified.

"Yes," they replied in unison, never breaking eye contact.

"Isn't this the part on Oprah were you have a big tearful reunion hug?"

Paige just looked at Chris in exasperation. "Shut up!"

Chris just looked at her sheepishly. "I'm just going to go over... Yeah, I'm just going to go." He headed out of the room.

"Anyway," Piper said, getting back to the matter at hand. "Steve, Why didn't you tell us you had a daughter?"

"Because I thought she was safe."

"With a monster like this running around, how could you possibly think she was safe?" Phoebe inquired.

"She lived with her aunt, who was a witch. Her aunt said she could cast protection spells and charms on her to protect her."

Piper let out a laugh. "Hah. If those things actually worked, I'd be walking with them tattooed on my back."

"You mean they don't work?" Steve said, looking crestfallen.

Phoebe quickly intervened, not wanting the man to loose heart. "Sometimes they work, but not against a demon this powerful."

"Why is the Menatar even after you? You're not a witch, are you?"

"Me? Hell no. The Menatar killed my wife because it was prophesized that she would vanquish the Menatar. So he went after her before she could go after him."

"I'm sorry that happened to your wife, but why is the Menatar after you and your daughter if he already killed your wife?"

Steve let out a bitter laugh. "When the Menatar comes after you, He doesn't just come after you, he goes after your whole family, magical or not."

"Oh," was all Paige said.

"Alright. This demon is pissing me off to no end. I want him vanquished before the night is over."

"Don't you listen?! The one who could vanquish the Menatar is dead! You can't do it!" Steve was outraged that they wouldn't listen.

"We've vanquished unvanquishable demons before. This one is no different."

"Just because you guys vanquished The Source doesn't mean you can take on the Menatar! Even The Source avoided him."

"Vanquishing The Source isn't the worst force of evil we've vanquished. He was a whip compared to the Titans." Phoebe said, and Paige laughed.

"You may find this very funny, but I don't. I you guys want to commit suicide, it's fine with me. But you are not dragging me or my daughter into this."

"It's too late," Phoebe said. "Your daughter has been dragged into this whether you like it or not."

Piper and Paige looked at her in confusion, so Phoebe elaborated, "If her mother was meant to vanquish the Menatar, maybe she is too. The same blood flows through her veins, so why shouldn't she be able to do it."

"But I'm not my mother," Melanie said, talking for the first time in five minutes.

"No," Paige said, picking up on Phoebe's train of thought. "But you are like her. When Our older sister, Prue, died, destroying the Charmed Ones, I was able to step up and reconstitute the Charmed Ones, even though I am only technically half-witch and their half-sister."

"But we think of her as a full sister," Phoebe added and Paige smiled at her. Phoebe knew Paige felt a little inferior to Prue, but Phoebe loved all her sisters the same.

"Then why can't Melanie's aunt, her mother's sister, vanquish the demon?" Steve asked, frustrated.

"Because her mother was chosen to do this, and she passed it on to her daughter, not her sister."

"But you're not even sure this will work! What if it gets her killed?"

"It's chance I have to take," Melanie said, sticking up for her self, surprising everyone. "This demon kill my mom and has a plague on my life for the last seven years. I want him dead so I can move on."

Piper's mouth dropped open in surprise at how articulate this little eleven-year-old girl was. _A plague on her life_, the words resounded through Piper's head.

Steve's angry question brought Piper back from her space-out. "What are you even doing away from your aunt's?"

"I took a bus here so I could find you. If I'm not safe, you sure aren't."

"Does your aunt know?"

"I left Aunt Lydia a note."

"You are grounded as soon as this is over."

"How are you going to ground me if you're never around?"

Piper had to suppress a laugh. This girl is good. Piper just watched as the two argued a bit more.

Paige stomach suddenly growled loudly. "It's the Menatar!" Steve screamed and pulled Melanie into a crouching a position.

"Calm down," Paige said, laughing. "It's just my stomach. Even super witches like us get hungry. I'll go make us some sandwiches."

"I'm going to go tweak the Power of Three spell so Melanie can say it with us."

"She's not doing it," Steve protested, knowing it was a lost cause.

"We'll be with her the whole time," Phoebe assured him.

"Oh, that's comforting," Steve said sarcastically.

"Come on, Melanie. We'll go work on the spell in the attic. I'll even show you our Book of Shadows." Phoebe and Melanie went to the attic, and Paige went to the kitchen, followed close by Steve, who wanted nothing to do with magic. Piper and Leo were left alone, standing by the stairs.

"Piper," Leo softly called, and drew her into a hug. "How are you holding up?"

"Better now," she said, leaning into him. "I just whish we knew what happens to Chris in the future. I can't imagine us letting anything happen to him."

"What ever it is, we'll fix it, I promise."

"At least Wyatt was good in the future. We did one thing right."

"Yes, Wyatt was very good. Did you see him, an Elder?" Piper heard the pride creeping into his voice anytime he talked about Wyatt.

"Yes. And you were still an Elder too. Do you think that means..."

Leo put his finger to her lips. "Shhh. Don't think about it. I am going through with the ceremony so I can be with you and the kids. Nothing is going to stop that." Piper loved hearing his reassurances, but she knew as well as anyone that shit happens.

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Piper and Leo stood over a sleeping Wyatt in his bed, and Piper pulled the covers tighter over her little boy.

There was a knock on the door, and Piper softly called out, "Come in."

Paige stuck her head in and whispered, "Lunch is ready. Chris, Steve, Phoebe, and Melanie are in the attic eating."

"We're coming," Piper said, and that's when it happened.

A distinct rumbling tore throughout the manor, and it wasn't Paige's stomach this time.

Piper, Leo, and Paige spared a glance at each other before sprinting to the attic. On the way out, Leo called, "Wyatt, danger!" and Wyatt, half asleep, put his shield up.

When they arrived in the attic, the scene unfolded before them. The Menatar had Phoebe and Melanie cornered in one side of the attic, Steve near by. Chris stood to the left of Steve, while Leo, Paige, and Piper were behind the Menatar, near the attic door. The Menatar raised one of its menacing claws towards Melanie, but Steve did the unthinkable.

He jumped in front of the monster, pushing Melanie out of the way, but put him self in harm's way.

Leo ran towards Steve, but he too was thrown across the room, slamming into the wall and then to the floor.

"Leo!" Piper screamed, intending to go to her husband, but Paige grabbed her around the waist and led her to Phoebe and Melanie.

Once together, the four joined hands and began to recite the spell:

"_Evil menace of the night,_

_Be gone forever_

_And end our plight_"

The Menatar let out one last howl, shaking the foundation of the house. He melted into a huge pile muck, and was gone.

The girl's relief was short lived, though. Piper ran to Leo, cradling his head in her lap.

"Piper, wake him up," Paige said, examining Steve. "It looks bad."

Piper shook Leo awake, and he opened his eyes and looked at her. His eyes then turned next to him, where Melanie was crying of her father. He crawled over to Steve, and immediately began to heal him.

After three minutes of healing, Leo sat back on his heels, and everyone looked at him expectantly.

"He's dead."

**Author note:** I hope you guys like how the story is going so far. Sorry it took me so long to update. My computer had a virus, and it would barely let me on the internet, and if it did, it would only let me read and review stories. I plan on updating often now.

Upcoming: Some interesting Phoebe/Jason and Piper/Leo developments, as well as Leo unbecoming an Elder (I have quite a surprise in store for that!) Please read and review, I really appreciate your comments.


	15. CSI: Charmed Style

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Chapter 15: CSI: Charmed Style

Darryl stood over Steve's body, shaking his head. "Phoebe, the man broke his neck! Do you really think that would happen just because he tripped?"

Phoebe, Paige, Leo, Chris, and now Darryl stood in the attic, trying to figure out how to explain Steve's death without exposing the girls as witches. Piper took a hysterical Melanie to Phoebe's room to take a nap.

Piper soon returned, joining in the discussion. It didn't feel right to any of them, trying to cover up Steve's death. But it had to be done, regardless of what anyone thought.

After several minutes and several rejected ideas, a small voice broke through the discussion. "He fell down the stairs." Melanie, with red-rimmed eyes, broke through the crowd

Darryl looked at her sadly. "But we're on the top floor of the house. He couldn't have fallen down the stairs."

"Not if you move him," Melanie said quietly, trying to hold back her tears.

Piper felt sick to her stomach. She didn't know if it was the suggestion, or the baby.

Darryl just shook his head. "Lividity would show that the body was moved."

Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo looked at him as if her were crazy.

"You obviously never watched CSI," Melanie said, and the group shook their head.

"So now you have to come up with a new theory," Darryl told them, but everyone was out of ideas.

But Melanie was adamant about her theory. "I will work."

"But we can't move him," Darryl, reminded her, getting frustrated.

"Yes, we can. We have magic on our side."

Piper looked to Phoebe, who in turn looked at Paige, who finally looked at Leo.

"How me? No." The girls kept looking at him. "Not me."

"Who else?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." he muttered. He made Melanie, who was holding her dead father's hand, take a step back. She did so, and Leo raised both of his arms, and Steve's body was orbed to the bottom of the stairs.

The people in the attic slowly filed out onto the stair case, where Steve now laid at the bottom of. Melanie, no longer able to contain her grief, ran to her father and cried over his dead body. Piper tried to go to her, but Leo held her back. "Let her be with him," he said. "She needs to be." Piper nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to call this in," Darryl said, his voice thick with emotion.

He radioed it in, and three squad cars were here in minutes, along with a coroner's vehicle.

The police made Melanie step away from her father's body, and she put up a fight. She began kicking and screaming until Piper came to her and calmed her down. She collapsed, sobbing in Piper's arms.

Meanwhile, they all gave their statements to Detective Vermillion, and all their stories were the same:

Steve and Melanie were visiting from out of town, and as they were planning on going P3, Steve fell down the stairs.

The detective closed his notepad and went and talked to the coroner. After telling him the time of death, the coroner suggested, "He fell with quite a force,"

"As if he was pushed down the stairs?" Vermillion said, eyes aglow.

"No, there are no marking to suggest that." The detective's face fell, and the coroner suggested, "He may have been running when he fell."

"Running from what?" Vermillion asked of no one in particular. He made his way back over to Darryl, Piper, Paige, Phoebe, Leo, Chris, and Melanie.

"Detective Morris," he said slyly. "You colleagues tell me you left the station house more than an hour ago. Did you stop for lunch before reporting to the scene of a crime?" Darryl opened his mouth to protest, but Vermillion held up a hand. "I don't want your excuses. I plan to find out what happened myself."

He then turned to the girls. "Fourth dead body to be found in this house. Inspector Andy Trudeau, Doctor Griffiths, Prue Halliwell...your sister, right? And now him."

"What are you getting at?" Piper snapped. She was in nor mood to put up with his antics.

His sly manor dropped and he became gravely serious. "What I am getting at, Mrs. Halliwell, is that people keep turning up dead in your house. And I intend to find out why. No matter what."

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**Author Note**: Do you like? I hope so. I just came up with the officer Vermillion part about five minutes ago... I think he will gradually be causing problems for the girls. Next chapter is Steve's funeral and a few loose ends to tie up. After that, I have a **HUGE **surprise for the next two chapters. I'm going to start writing it now so I can get it posted soon. Please review, I enjoy and appreciate all your comments. If you have any ideas for my story, please let me know.


	16. Two Dead Innocents

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Chapter 16: Two Dead Innocents

Piper was groggy with sleep when she heard the crying. Warm and comfortable underneath the covers and Leo's arms, she didn't want to get up. This was the first time Leo had actually slept at the manor since coming back into Piper's life. Leo spent all the other nights 'up there', doing his elderly duty. She didn't want to leave the comfort of her arms.

But the crying persisted, and Piper knew she had to get up. Leaving Leo's warmth, she hopped out of bed and all Leo did was roll over and take all the covers.

_Figures_, Piper thought, and headed towards the crying. It wasn't coming from Wyatt, so Piper figured it had to be Melanie. Hell, if she had been through what this girl had, she'd be crying in her sleep too.

Piper quietly opened the door to Phoebe's room, where Melanie was staying until her aunt came for her in the morning. Phoebe had willingly (though it seemed more like _eager_ to Piper) to spend the night at Jason's, leaving Phoebe's bed open for Melanie.

Piper crept quietly to the bed to see if Melanie was still asleep, but was surprised to find her tear-filled brown eyes staring up at her.

"Sorry if I woke you," Melanie apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Piper said, crouching down next to the side of the bed. "I'm used to hearing cries in the middle of the night. It's part of being a parent."

Melanie tried to smile, but failed, and burst into more tears. Piper tried to sooth the young girl, but ended up crawling in the so she could comfort Melanie.

"I just feel so guilty," she cried in between sobs.

"I know, but you have to understand it wasn't your fault."

"But wasn't it? If I would have moved or something..."

"You think he would be alive right now?" Melanie nodded her head. "It's not your fault, but no matter what I say, you're going to feel guilty. But after a while, the guilt begins to go away. The hurt is always there, but you learn to bear it and move on with your life. It gets easier, I promise."

"But how can you be sure? Did someone die to protect you from a demon?"

"Yes, my older sister, Prue. She gave her life to save mine, and I felt incredibly guilty for the longest time. But it got easier to deal with. I'll always hurt, but I want it that way. I'd rather remember her and hurt, than forget her and not hurt."

Her words seemed to be comforting Melanie, who laid in Piper's arms and listened to her talk until she fell asleep.

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Leo awoke in the morning to find Piper gone out of the bed. He went and checked on Wyatt, who was still sound asleep. He figured he would check on Melanie, since her aunt would be here in a little more than an hour.

Leo remembered the conversation Piper had with Melanie's Aunt Lydia. She had been relieved that Melanie was safe, heartbroken that Steve was dead, and fascinated that her niece was staying with the legendary Charmed Ones.

Leo cracked open the door and a slow smile spread across his face. There was Piper, asleep, holding a sleeping Melanie in her arms. He wondered if he should wake them, knowing Melanie's aunt would be here in less than an hour. As Piper shifted position in bed and laid a protective arm over Melanie, he decided to wait.

He went down stairs and began making breakfast, but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. He figured it was Melanie's aunt.

So, he wasn't surprised when he answered the door to find a tall woman, who vaguely looked like Melanie, standing outside of the door.

Leo held out his hand, and she shook it. "Hi. I take it you are Melanie's aunt?"

"Yes. Please call me Lydia." Leo let her inside and she immediately asked, "Where's Melanie? Are you sure she's okay?"

"She's fine," he assured her. "As a matter of fact, she's upstairs sleeping." Leo showed her the room where Melanie and Piper slept, and Lydia immediately rushed to Melanie's side.

Piper, startled awake by the arrival of this stranger hopped out of bed, and walked to Leo, who hugged her from behind.

Melanie awoke to find her aunt's arms around her, and she let out tears her thought she had already shed. Her aunt just held her and let her cry it out.

Leo held Piper, watching the scene unfold before them.

"What happened to Steve," Lydia turned to them and asked, her eyes not filled with anger, but full of resentment.

But before Leo or Piper could muster a response, Melanie quietly said, "He protected me the only way he knew how. By giving up his life." She burst into a fresh round of tears and was again comforted by her aunt.

"Let's go downstairs," Leo whispered into Piper's ear, and she agreed. He took her hand and led her downstairs. Piper sat at the kitchen table, and Leo poured her a cup of tea.

"Thanks," she replied, taking a sip.

Leo looked at his wife, wondering how he managed to spend the last seven months as an Elder away from her. Leo was happy to make the decision to give up his elder powers, but he would miss being an Elder. As an Elder, he had powers that enabled him to help more people than he could as just a Whitelighter. But Piper, Wyatt, and his unborn son were more important to him than being an Elder.

Leo had been meaning to ask Piper something, but things kept coming up. He was going to ask her if he could move back in. He had spent the night here last night for the first time in a long while, but it was out of convenience. At least some level it was, but Leo truly loved waking up in the middle of the night to find Piper sleeping in his arms.

Leo opened his mouth to ask Piper, but was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Phoebe and Jason walked into the kitchen, ruining Leo's chance to ask Piper.

Phoebe grabbed a cup of coffee and offered one to Jason, who accepted. "Is it just me, or do we seem to be losing our innocents lately? First Madison, then Steve..."

"Yeah, I got the picture, Phoebe. Let's just get through the funeral, alright?"

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People gathered into the small chapel, where the memorial service for Steve was being held. Melanie sat in between her aunt and Piper, tightly clasping their hands as the priest said a eulogy over his casket. He did not have a Wiccan service as Prue and Melanie's mother did, because he was not Wiccan.

Melanie no longer sobbed aloud; instead, she let the tears run silently down her face.

It was time to make a final passing past the coffin. Melanie and Lydia were the first to go, and the congregation slowly followed their lead.

Piper felt her body go cold as she noticed who one of the last people to file past the coffin was. Officer Vermillion.

He smiled and waved at them. He held his hand up to his ear as if it were a phone, and mouthed the words '_I'll talk to you later'_.

Piper felt cold fear wash over her as he did that. She knew he was determined to find out what they knew, and that he would stop at nothing to find out what secret the Halliwells hid.

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Two days after the funeral, and one day after a tearful good-bye from Melanie and her aunt (who promised to come back and visit soon), Leo found Piper in her room, doing some serious cleaning. There were boxes, hangers, and clothes strewn all over the place.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked, eyeing the mess.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Moving out?" he guessed.

"No, I'm moving your stuff back in."

Leo had the biggest smile on his face. "Really?"

"If you want to," she said.

"Of course I do! I was planning on asking _you_ if I could move back in."

"Well, I'm okay with it." She went back to folding and rearranging clothes.

"Let me help you," Leo said, and began helping her fold shirts. He was elated to helping Piper, just to be near her again.

Suddenly, Leo gathered Piper in his arms and passionately kissed her, and both of them knew that everything was going to work out.

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**Author's Note**: Sorry if this chapter was a little boring; I promise the next to will be really interesting. I plan on having them up by next weekend, at the latest.


	17. The New Elder

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Chapter 17: The New Elder

"Throw it, Jason!" Phoebe yelled, and Jason hurled the potion at the sickly demon Phoebe just tackled to the floor. The Demons screeched and exploded, leaving no trace it ever existed.

"That was..." Jason was at a loss for words.

"Amazing?" Phoebe supplemented.

"Yeah."

"See? Vanquishing a demon does wonders for your self esteem."

"I do see," he said, wrapping his arms around Phoebe and drawing her into a long, deep kiss.

"Alright, break it up you two," an irritated Piper said. "We have an hour until Wyatt waked up from his nap and about half an hour until I throw my guts up again. We should be able to fit two demon vanquishes."

"Well, isn't someone hormonal this morning," Paige commented.

"Shut up," Piper mumbled. "We have two days to get through this list of demons before Leo's power transferring ceremony thingy can happen."

"Ceremony thingy?"

"You know what I mean. The sooner we can vanquish these demons, the sooner I can get back to a semi-normal life." Paige opened her mouth to speak, but Piper cut her off. "Don't even go there, missy."

"Shutting up."

"Okay the next demon is the Saucer demon. Uck. Take a look at his face."

"Maybe we should give him a makeover before we vanquish him," Paige suggested, looking at the book over her shoulder. "Make him feel good about his afterlife."

"Please tell me you're not serious," Jason pleaded.

Phoebe put a hand on his arm. "It's a joke."

Piper put her hand to her stomach, feeling the urge to throw up. "Someone finish the potion. I'll be back." She ran out of the attic.

Then the phone rang. "I'll get it," Paige said, leaving Phoebe and Jason alone in the attic.

Jason went to Phoebe and drew her into an embrace. "When all this is over," he mumbled into her hair, "we are going to take a week-long romantic trip. Just you and me."

Phoebe laughed and kissed him. "Sounds wonderful. But first, let's take care of these pesky demons."

She went to the book and began looking at the Saucer demon entry. Jason came behind her and began rubbing her shoulders. He began kissing her neck and Phoebe sighed with content. _I love you, Jason, _she thought.

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Two days later, Piper, Wyatt, Chris, Paige, Phoebe, Jason, Leo, two Elders, and the teacher from magic school stood in the attic. Leo and the two Elders stood in the middle of the circle the others formed around them. The teacher stood a slight distance back from Leo.

One of the Elders held his hand to Leo's forehead and both began to chant in Latin. As he did so, Leo began to glow a golden color, just like the golden color he glowed when becoming an Elder. Then the golden light began to flow out of him, making him gasp for breath.

Piper, holding Wyatt, took a step towards him, but Phoebe put a hand on her arm, causing her to step back.

The golden light shot out of Leo, causing him to fall to his knees. The golden light formed a cloud above them, slowly changing into blue orbs. The Elders kept on chanting, and the cloud of now blue orbs drifted towards the teacher.

Then something unexpected happened. The cloud spilt in two.

Everyone watched as one section swirled around the teacher, and slammed him in the middle of his chest. He glowed gold for a moment, and quickly returned to his normal self.

Meanwhile, the other cloud hovered in mid air, and began milling around the crowd. With out the subtle warning the cloud gave the teacher, this cloud quickly rushed into its prey.

It rushed into Chris.


	18. It Runs in the Family

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Chapter 18: It Runs in the Family

The cloud of blue orbs rushed into Chris and everyone stared at him in amazement.

"Oh no," he said. "What just happened?"

"You are now an Elder, my son," and Elder replied.

"Oh, no I'm not. I'm not your son either. I'm _his_ son," he said, pointing at Leo.

"Figure of speech, Chris," Paige mumbled to him. She was still in shock. _Chris_ an _Elder_? He disliked the Elders more than Piper did, which was saying something.

"No. I am **_NOT_** an Elder. I don't even live in this time. There is not way I am going to be an Elder."

"You have no choice. The Powers that Be have chosen you for a reason."

"Yeah well, take it out of me. Do what you just did to Leo to me."

"We can't; you have not fulfilled you destiny yet."

Chris groaned. "Oh man. Mom," he pleaded, "please help me. Tell them they're wrong. Tell them how crappy of an Elder I'd make."

"Chris, I think you'll be a good Elder."

Chris groaned. This is exactly what he didn't want to hear.

"Just listen to me. You have already made may decisions for the Elders. Remember how it was you who talked Leo into turning us into Goddess so we could defeat the Titans? That was your doing. I think you'll make a great Elder."

"You're not helping the situation. Dad?" He turned to Leo, but Leo only held up his hands, unwilling to help. "Fine. Be that way."

"The Elders took Chris by the arm. It is time to go."

He wrenched his arm out of their grasp. "No. I'm not going."

One of the Elders, tired of Chris's complaining, flicked his arm into the air, and Chris was orbed out, still arguing.

"We are going to have a chat with him. If you'll excuse us." The Elder turned to the teacher. "Mr. Williams, if you would..." The teacher shook Leo's hand and thanking him before orbing out with the Elders.

After they were gone the remaining part of the group stared at each other in astonishment. Chris an Elder? It didn't seem like it could be true.

"It looks like being an Elder runs in the family," Paige quipped. The others just stared at her and said nothing. One by one, the group trickled out of the attic, leaving Piper, hold a sleeping Wyatt, and Leo alone.

Leo took the sleeping Wyatt from her and smiled. "Any regrets?" she asked.

Leo looked at his sleeping son and his wife bearing his unborn child. "No. None at all."

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Three weeks after Chris becoming an Elder, the Council of Elders declared he could travel back and forth between the future and the present, as long as he did not tell anyone of his findings, less it mess up the 'Grand Design'. Chris was angry that they made him an Elder against, his wishes, but Piper was personally happy. Big Chris would get to stay around. Ever since finding out Chris was her son, Piper and Chris had bonded, and she knew she would miss him terribly if he went to the future for good. Selfish, she knew, but didn't care.

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Phoebe quietly gathered her clothes off of the floor, frantically looking for her misplaced bra. She finally noticed it on top of the tall mirror that sat on Jason's dresser. How it got there, she didn't remember, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

She slowly reached for her bra, not wanting to hit something and wake up Jason. Too late. Her elbow knocked over some cologne and sent it tumbling to the floor. Jason, still half-asleep, sat bolt right up in bed. "Phoebe? Why are you leaving?"

"I um..."

"Did you sisters call?"

"No." She wouldn't have minded using that excuse, but when she did, it always seemed a demon appeared. "I have to go to work."

"Phoebe, I own the paper. If I say you don't have to go in, you don't."

"But I..."

"Please don't leave," he said, and Phoebe heard the sincerity in his voice.

She crawled back in bed and her put his arms around her and drew her close. "I glad to be in back in San Francisco. Glad to be back with you," he said into her hair. And not just for the sex, although I must admit it is good." He laughed and so did she. She remembered when Jason took her on a romantic date, about two weeks ago, and came back to his apartment where one thing led to another...

"I love you, Phoebe," he said, and her heart skipped a beat. "I loved you before I left, and the whole time I was gone just made me realize just how much I love you."

"I love you, too," Phoebe replied and eagerly kissed him.

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Phoebe went into the kitchen of the manor and found Piper and Paige sitting at the kitchen table. "Hey, Piper."

"Who are you?" Piper asked.

"What?" phoebe asked, confused.

Paige turned to Piper. "I think her name is Phoebe or something like that."

"Oh yeah," Paige said in return. "Wasn't she our sister or cousin?"

"I think she might have only been a cousin..."

"Cut it out you guys," Phoebe said catching on. They were only teasing her about how much time she spent at Jason's. "I haven't been at Jason's that much."

Paige looked at her. "When your toothbrush sits next to his..."

Phoebe cut her off. "I didn't come to be teased. I came to find out how your teaching job is, Paige."

Paige's face lit up. "It's going great. I'm teaching Fundamentals of Magic course. It's just a lot of book work, but in the afternoons I get to help new students on learning to control their powers. I absolutely love it."

Phoebe began peeling an orange and listened to Paige's prideful voice as she talked about the joys of her job.

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A month and a half later, Phoebe trudged into the manor and slammed the door closed behind her. She just came back from the doctors, and the news was... well, she wasn't sure.

To her surprise, Piper came bounding down the stairs and wrapped her into a big hug.

"Piper?"

"Yeah?" she asked, still hugging her.

"First of all, you are scaring me to no end," she choked out. "Second of all, you're choking me."

Piper let her go. "Sorry."

"Why are you so happy?

"I am halfway through my second trimester, which is four months, and it is the first day I haven't been sick."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks. I just can't believe I'm already halfway through my second trimester."

"And I can't believe I'm in my first."

Piper stopped smiling and stared at her. "What?!"

Phoebe took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."


	19. A Big Surprise

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Chapter 19: A Big Surprise

"You're what?!"

"Pregnant," Phoebe simply said.

Piper was at a loss for words. Leo came happily down the stairs. "Hey you guys. What's up?"

"Little Missy Phoebe here is pregnant," Piper blurted out, waving her hand towards Phoebe.

"Really?" Leo said with a smile. "Congratulations." But Piper and Phoebe were not smiling. "What did I say wrong?"

"Nothing," Phoebe said. It's just not what I was expecting."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in my vision quest…"

"The one where you found out Chris was my son," Piper interrupted.

Phoebe continued to talk, ignoring Piper. "I wasn't pregnant until Chris was five of six. And he clearly isn't that old yet."

"Yeah, but who knows what number kid that was. It could have been your twelfth for all you know."

"Ouch."

"Are you happy?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. I mean I am, but I don't know how I'm going to tell Jason. If I even am."

"Oh yes you are. You were bugging me to tell Leo. You will tell him. He has a right to know."

"And I didn't?" Leo asked, slightly insulted.

She put her hand on his arm. "Yes, you did. But our situation was a little…complicated." Upon seeing his hurt expression, she said, "We'll argue about this later."

"My situation is complicated too. Jason is kind of like an Elder; he travels all over the world and is gone for a large part of the time, sort of like Leo was."

"Nice try, but no. First of all, ever since Jason came back to San Francisco he hasn't left. Second of all, even if he did, you could go with. We have plenty of people who could orb you back incase we need you."

"True, but what if Jason flips out when I tell him and he leaves. I don't think I can take that."

Piper put one arm around her sister's shoulders. "That is what you have family for. We will help you no matter what happens. But personally, I think Jason will take the news better than you expect. He really loves you, Phoebe."

"I know."

"Alright then," Piper said, steering her towards the door. "You are going to go tell him right now."

"What?!"

"Yes, right now."

"But…"

"Phoebe," Leo broke in, "you should tell him right now. He'll appreciate it. Trust me, I know."

Piper heaved out a heavy sigh. "Leo, I will deal with you in a minute. Phoebe, go to Jason's right now and tell him. As you can see, it will do you relationship a load of good."

"Okay," Phoebe said.

Seeing the scared and nervous look on her sister's face, Piper gave her a hug and told her, "Don't worry; it will be fine. Everything will work out."

"I'm just scared."

Trying to lighten Phoebe's mood, Piper said. "Well, at least you were the first to find out you were pregnant. I was always the last one to find out I was pregnant."

Phoebe laughed. It was true. When the Angle of Destiny hinted Piper was pregnant, she and Paige had figured it out before Piper. And then she had her vision about Chris, and she told Paige, once again leaving Piper out of the loop.

"No, _I'm_ always the last one to find out," Leo said.

Piper rolled her eyes and hugged Phoebe once again. "You'll be fine."

Phoebe nodded her head and walked out of the door, leaving Piper and Leo alone to work out their problems.

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Piper closed the door after Phoebe and hoped everything would be okay for her sister. Then she turned to Leo. She expected, wanted, to be mad at Leo for the things he said, but she realized everything he said was true.

She walked to Leo and hugged him around his waist. "Are you mad at me still?" she asked.

"Not mad, just hurt. I thought I was over it, but I guess not."

"I'm sorry, it's just…"

"You don't have to explain; I understand. It's just going to take me a while to stop hurting."

Piper hung her head in shame. If she was in his position, she didn't think she could be quite so understanding. Everything he said was true and he had every right to be mad.

Leo saw her hand her head and gently lifted it with his fingers. "Don't worry about it. We'll work through it, we always do."

Piper just hugged Leo close, grateful to have someone so understanding.

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Phoebe rang the bell to Jason's penthouse. She almost turned around and left. But she forced herself to stay. He heard Jason call "Just a minute!" from within the penthouse.

_This is crazy, _She thought_, I should have fought Piper harder on this. I should have given her hell like she gave me_. Even though she was angry at her sister, she knew Piper was only doing this for her own good. That's how Piper is; she's the big sister who takes care of everything and everyone. _What we could do with out her, I don't want to know_.

Jason opened the door, clad in nothing except a pair of black pants. "Phoebe!" Jason exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you until dinner tonight." He stepped back and let her into the penthouse.

"I thought this shouldn't wait."

Jason's smile left his face. "It sounds serious. Sit down and let me throw a shirt on." Phoebe sat on the couch and Jason went into his bedroom.

As Jason dressed in his room, Phoebe nervously twirled her hands. If she left now, maybe Jason wouldn't notice…

Too late. Jason walked out of is room and sat on the couch next to Phoebe. After a moment of awkward silence, Jason asked, "So what did you want to tell me?"

Phoebe looked down at her hands. "Um, I, um, I'm not really sure how to say this…"

"Say what?"

"I'm kind of at a loss for words right now," she said.

"Now you're scaring me. You, at a loss for words?" Jason joked, but stopped laughing when she saw Phoebe's serious expression. "What is it? You can tell me."

"Can I? How do I know you won't run off and leave me…" Phoebe jumped off the couch and began pacing the room on her little tirade, forgetting Jason didn't know what she was talking about.

"Phoebe," Jason finally said, taking her hands, "just sit down and tell me what you're talking about."

Phoebe took a deep breath and sat down. "Okay."

"Okay," Jason repeated.

Phoebe looked into Jason's eyes, and saw them filled with compassion, concern, and worry. For her. Seeing how much Jason cared for her compelled her to tell him the truth straight out, no more dancing around the subject.

"Jason, I'm pregnant."

Jason looked at her for a moment before asking, "Are you serious?"

"Jason! Why would I make something like this up?"

"Good point. Sorry, I'm just…surprised." He stood up and released her hands. He held up his index finger and said, "Give me a minute." He went into his room and closed his door. Phoebe could hear objects being moved around.

_What the hell is up with him_, Phoebe wondered._ Is this how he avoids the issue_? Phoebe was confused, and angry, at his reaction. He should show some emotion, letting her know how he feels.

Jason soon returned out of his room, looking more nervous than before. Phoebe was pissed now, ready to fly off the handle at any moment. What the hell got into Jason? Why was he acting so weird? She didn't plan on him taking the news with great excitement, but she didn't plan on him taking it like this.

Jason knelt in front of her, and Phoebe quickly stood up, yelling at him. "What the hell had gotten into you, Jason? I…"

Jason forced her to sit back down. He once again took her hands in his, but she wrenched them away. "Phoebe," Jason said, taking her hands again. She didn't remove them from his grasp. "I just want you to listen to me, no interruptions, okay?" Phoebe nodded her head, so he continued. "You know how much I love you, and I know how much you love me. Phoebe, I loved you before I left, and now that I've come back, I've realized just how much I love you."

Jason, still holding her hands, knelt on the floor. "I was going to wait until dinner tonight, but…" Jason dug a black velvet box out of his pocket. "Phoebe, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our child." He opened the box, revealing a diamond ring on a silver band. There was one large diamond in the middle with two smaller diamonds on each side of it. "Will you marry me?"


	20. The New Agent

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Chapter 20: The New Agent

Piper successfully blew up the demon, but the demon left a nice little mess behind. The girls were now covered in a clear, gooey substance.

"Can a demon not leave a mess behind, just for once?" Piper sighed, flinging a pile of goo off her head.

"But that would take all the fun out of it, dear sister," Paige said with a fake accent. Piper and Phoebe both laughed at her.

The doorbell rang. "Oh man! That might be a shipment from the club."

"Why is it being delivered here?"

"They're doing construction on the devilery access road. Delivery trucks can't make it through for at least another two days."

The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming!" Piper called. She quickly walked to the door with her sisters close behind her.

Piper was very tempted to slam the door shut when she saw who was behind it.

Officer Vermillion and another man. "A family welcome for me?" Vermillion asked and then laughed at his own joke.

None of the Halliwell's or his partner laughed. Vermillion stopped chuckling and Piper asked. "What do you want?"

"A little hostile, are we?" he asked. Every word out of his mouth grated on Piper's nerves. She wondered if he would blow up like a demon. She dismissed the thought. Harming an annoying jerk like Vermillion would just come around to bite her in the ass.

"I just came around to congratulate you and Phoebe on you impending motherhood."

"How did you know?" Phoebe asked, bewildered.

"I have my ways. I think congratulations on your upcoming nuptials are in order, yes?"

Phoebe was amazed. Only Piper, Paige, and Leo knew about her being pregnant and marrying Jason.

Piper was furious. "What do want from us?"

Vermillion's joking demeanor vanished. "I want the truth."

"What truth?" Piper asked innocently.

Now it was Vermillion's turn to be angry. "Don't play dumb. You know what I mean. The multiple deaths. I would think you would want to catch your sister's killer."

Piper's grip tightened on the door until her knuckles turned white. "I think it's time you left."

"Mrs. Halliwell, or is it Wyatt? Why didn't you take your husband's last name? And why did you give your son your husband's last name as a first name?"

"You need to leave. _Now_."

"Mrs. Halliwell, four people have died in this house. Your sister, a prominent doctor, a San Francisco police officer, and a father of a young girl. And those are the only ones we now about."

"What are you accusing us of?"

"I am accusing you of not being truthful. I know you know something you are not telling, and I am going to find out what your secret is." He finally turned to the man next to him. "This is federal agent Brody, from the FBI. He will be helping me with my investigation of you."

Agent Brody gave them a two fingered wave.

Vermillion gave the girls one more look over. "You girls may want to clean up. That gel stuff you're wearing just isn't doing it for you." He turned and walked away, agent Brody close to him.

Piper closed the door and leaned against it. She looked at Phoebe and Paige who looked as worried as she felt.

"We're doomed."


	21. Scapegoat

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Chapter 20: Scapegoat

Paige just orbed home from work when the doorbell rang. With a sigh, she went to the door, opened it, and immediately tried to close it when she saw who stood outside.

Agent Brody put a hand against the door, stopping Paige from closing it. "Paige, just hear me out for a minute."

Paige impatiently opened the door and opened it. "Just one minute."

He took a breath. "Alright. I am not with Vermillion. I personally think he's an ass."

Paige let out a little snicker.

"But he's a determined ass. He's not going to rest until he gets someone for those murders."

Paige's smile fell. "We've dealt with situations like this before. I think we can handle it."

"Not like this. He wants to pin the murders on _you_."

"Me?" Paige asked, astounded.

"Not you particularly, but you and our sisters."

"That's a bunch of shit. We didn't kill anybody! Why would we?"

Brody just held up his hands. "I'm just the messenger. But I do think I have a solution. May I come in and talk to you and your sisters?"

Paige held the door open a little wider and Brody walked in. Paige led him to the kitchen where Piper and Leo were feeding Wyatt and Phoebe was sitting on Jason's lap.

When Piper saw Brody walk in behind Paige, she angrily asked, "What is he doing here?"

Paige held up her hands. "Piper, just listen for second. I think you need to hear what he has to say."

After Brody finished explaining how Vermillion wanted to pin the murders on them, Piper sat down. "Oh jeeze," she said, putting her hands in her face.

Leo put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find a way out of it. We always do."

"Not this time. This isn't your normal demon vanquish," Brody said, shocking all of them into silence. They never mentioned demons or anything supernatural to him.

"Who the hell are you?" Piper asked, her voice holding back anger. "How the hell do you know about demons?"

Brody held up his hands, as if saying _I come in peace_. "I was raised by my aunt who was in a coven. My parents were killed by a demon."

"So you're a witch?"

"No. I have no magic. Neither did my parents."

"Then how do you know about this?"

"I learned from my aunt. Look, I'm here to help you guys because you are the Charmed Ones."

"You know about that too?!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Yes. I know Piper has the power to freeze, you have the power of premonition, and Prue had telekinesis. Paige, I am guessing, has telekinesis, just in a different form. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Paige said. "I guess you could say that."

"Alright!" Piper exclaimed. "Everyone just shut up for a minute. How the hell did you find out so much about us?"

"I told you, from my aunt."

"No other witch would know which know which one of us had which powers. There's something you're not telling us."

"I've done a little digging."

Piper, fully aggravated now, froze Brody. "Oohh. I cannot take much more of this," she said. "He's so lucky I'm not allowed to blow up innocents."

"Piper, calm down," Leo said.

"Yeah, you don't want to send him flying across the room, now do you?" Phoebe asked.

Piper turned to her sister, but couldn't find her. "Phoebe? Where did you go?"

Leo tapped her shoulder and pointed upwards. Piper looked at Phoebe to see her sister levitating about six feet in the air. "Phoebe! What are you doing up there? Get down here this instant!"

"I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't? Are your powers screwed up?"

"No. I think the baby made me do it."

"What? How?"

"You have Chris's telekinesis, so I think my baby can levitate."

"I found her floating about three feet over the bed this morning."

Piper put her face in her hands. "We do not have time for this. Jason, figure out a way to get her down."

"Me? What can I do?"

"I don't know. It's your kid too."

Piper turned to Paige. "Paige, I think he's a demon."

"No, he's not."

"How do you know?"

"Most demons don't ring the doorbell."

"Cole rang the doorbell."

"Good point. I'll--"

She was cut off by a demon hurling an energy ball at her. She orbed out of the way, but the energy ball kept traveling, hitting Kyle squarely in the abdomen. He unfroze and sailed across the room.

Piper reacted quickly. As Leo ran to Kyle, she flung the demon across the room and froze him in midair. Phoebe, who Jason managed to get down from the ceiling, landed a kick to the demon, sending him flying again. Piper blew him before he hit the wall.

The girls walked over to Leo, who was healing Kyle. "I think this disproves your demon theory," Leo told Piper as he healed Kyle. Leo couldn't heal demons.

Kyle sat up and said. "What the hell was that?"

"That is how Andy Trudeau died. You might want to be a little more cooperative if you want to live next time," Piper told him, all seriousness.

"Okay. What we need to do is going to break about twenty federal laws and land us in jail if we get caught."

"What do we need to do?"

"Break into a evidence warehouse, hack into a federal database, and falsify evidence in two murder cases without getting caught by the FBI."

"Is that all?" Paige asked, a little hysterically.

"Yeah, that's about it."

"Well great. That will be a piece of cake," Paige said sarcastically.

"I forgot one thing."

"Oh no," she groaned.

"We have to find someone you can blame for the crime, a scapegoat, if you will. It needs to be someone believable. Someone the police will have no problem believing."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Phoebe spoke up and said, "Cole."

Piper looked around. "Cole? Where?"

"Cole. We can use Cole."


	22. Warehouse

Chapter 21: Warehouse

Piper, Leo, Kyle, Paige, and Jason all followed Phoebe up the stairs to attic. The three sisters split up to find the box that Phoebe had put Cole's stuff in when he 'died'.

As they were searching, Piper asked, "Kyle, run this by me again. What did you want us to do?"

"He wants us to break a dozen federal laws," Phoebe quirked.

"Is that all?" Piper replied sarcastically.

"Found it!" Phoebe exclaimed and pulled out a box. She wiped off the dust and began to cough as it flew up around her face. She waved her hand in front of her face to disperse the dust.

Very carefully, she opened the box. Kyle came over to her and warned her to touch nothing. "Is there anything in there that he would have touched and no one else?"

Phoebe looked at the objects. "That chalice," she said, indicating the golden cup. "I touched the base, but he touched the cup part. It was used in his coronation ceremony."

Kyle looked at her. "I don't even want to know the details."

"My ex-husband was the source of all evil."

"Oh. That's nice."

Phoebe rummaged through the box and pulled out a vile filled with bright pink liquid. "This is a potion made with his blood."

"You still have that?" Piper asked, surprised.

"If you think that's bad," she rummaged in the box until she brought out a jar with a hunk of red meat sitting in the middle. She held up the jar.

"Eww, Phoebe, that is gross. That has to be rotten by now. I can't believe you kept that!"

"I put a freeze-dry spell on it. It should still be fresh."

"You are the weirdest witches I've ever met," Kyle commented.

"We're also the most powerful witches who happen to have demonic ex-husbands who like to come back from the dead."

"Good point," Piper said.

"Jeeze, Phoebe. I always knew you had a thing for bad boys, but…" Jason trailed off.

Phoebe stood up and hugged him. "Don't worry, honey. That was a long time ago."

"I think we have everything we need," Kyle said, picking up the box."

"So what do we do now?"

"I'll come back a eleven tonight with everything we need." Kyle took the box and walked out of the attic.

"I wish I could blow him up. I really do."

"Be careful what you wish for. You know how things run in this family."

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Once they were at the Warehouse, they split up into groups. Phoebe and Jason went to the surveillance room to keep an eye on the cameras to see if anyone was coming. Piper and Leo went to evidence room to collect all the evidence from Prue and Dr. Griffith's murder. Paige and Kyle went to the computer room where Kyle would falsify all the evidence.

Phoebe and Jason made themselves quite comfortable watching the video cameras. Phoebe sat on Jason's lap and he gently rubbed her belly and her shoulders.

Piper and Leo finally found Prue's stuff in the evidence room. Piper, unable to look at it, let Leo pile it into a box. She instead found the hardcopy of the file they kept on the murders. Piper opened it and the first thing she was a picture of Prue, lying on the remnants of what once was a wall, blood coming from her ears.

Piper let a small gasp escape from her lips and Leo came to her. "Piper?" he whispered gently, but his wife did not answer.

Piper slowly ran a finger of the picture of her dearly departed sister. "Piper, honey, we have to go." Leo took the file from her, closed it, and put it in the box.

Piper obediently followed him to where Paige and Kyle were working on the computer. Or rather, Kyle was working on the computer and Paige was watching him with interest.

"Here's the stuff," Leo said and set the box down next to Kyle.

Kyle took out a couple of things out of the box and took a glove he had transferred Cole's fingerprints to and put Cole's fingerprints on the objects. Every time he did that he entered it into the computer so Vermillion couldn't find any discrepancies.

He did the same things with a sample of Cole's blood. He was almost done when Piper's cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Piper!" Phoebe's voice called out. "Vermillion's headed right for you! You have to get out of there!"

Piper hung up and told Leo and Paige who were looking at her. "Vermillion's"

"Vermillion's what?" asked a voice and Piper turned to see Officer Vermillion standing behind her, gun held at ready. "Well, well. What do we have here? Two Halliwells. Where's the third? I suspect she's around here somewhere."

As he said that, Phoebe and Jason came running into the room, holding hands. "He's" Vermillion turned and trained his gun on them. "here."

Kyle took Vermillion's distraction to his advantage. He whipped out his own gun, but did not shoot Vermillion. Instead, he hit him hard on the back of the head with the butt of the gun. Vermillion fell to the floor like a pile of limp rags.

"Nice shot," Paige commented.

"Thanks," he said, holstering his weapon. "Let's finish this up and get out of here. Leo, would you orb him out of here?"

"Where?"

"To his house would be bed. Hopefully he'll wake up and think this was all a dream."

Leo did as he was asked and the others got back to work.

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Three weeks later, Piper answered the door and officer Vermillion was standing at the door. "What do you want now? Come to charge us for murder?"

"Actually, I came to apologize."

Piper looked at him doubtfully.

"In light of recent evidence, it seems Cole Turner killed your sister."

"Another officer already told us."

"I know. I just wanted to give you my apologizes for disrupting your life."

"Okay," She said and closed the door.

Phoebe and Paige were right there. "I can't believe he apologized."

"I'm just glad he's off our backs."

"We couldn't have done it without Kyle," Paige said with a smile.

"You're right," Piper admitted.

"So does that mean you trust him?"

"I guess I don't have a choice. I take it that he's going to be around a lot?"

"A whole lot," Paige said with an even bigger smile.


	23. Save the Baby

Chapter 22: Save the Baby

Phoebe, Jason, Paige, Kyle, Leo, and Piper stood in the foyer of the manor. The plan was to go out for dinner, but they couldn't all agree on one place. It didn't help Phoebe and Piper both had cravings for different things.

"I say the pregnant women have no say about where we go," Paige suggested. "Other wise we'll never get out of here."

Piper and Phoebe glared at her, so she said, "Maybe not."

"I think we should…"

But Kyle was cut off by Phoebe's cry of "Darklighter!"

The Darklighter poised his bow and released not one, but three poison arrows.

Everyone went into action immediately. Kyle tackled Paige to the floor, narrowly escaping a poison arrow, and in the process, knocking both of them unconscious. Jason pulled Phoebe to him, protecting her and the baby from being hit. As an arrow was about to hit Leo, Piper froze it before it could penetrate his skin.

But what no one realized was that the Darklighter let loose another arrow. It headed straight for Piper. Before anyone could do anything, it hit her in the side, knocking her to the ground.

When Piper went down, the arrow she froze unfroze, hitting Leo in the stomach. He fell to the floor, not even a foot away from Piper.

"No!" Phoebe screamed. She was the last sister standing. She flew at the Darklighter, levitating and kicking him repeatedly. She kicked the bow from his hands and it went flying towards Jason. "Shoot him, Jason!" Phoebe cried. She saw Jason take aim, and she rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being hit. The Darklighter burst into flames and disappeared.

"Piper!" she cried, running to her sister. She cradled Piper's head in her lap.

"The baby…" Piper whispered, shaking uncontrollably. She lifted a blood soaked hand from her stomach that made Phoebe gasp and tears come to her eyes.

"Just hold on sweetie."

"Leo…" she said, looking at her unconscious husband.

"We'll save him too. Just hold on." Phoebe turned to Jason. "Jason, wake up Paige now. We need her to heal Leo so he can heal Piper."

Jason tried to wake her up, but it was no use. "What was that thing?" he asked as he tried to wake up Kyle instead.

"A Darklighter. His arrows are poisonous to Whitelighters."

"Then why was Piper affected?"

"Because her baby is part Whitelighter." Phoebe was crying now, holding the shaking Piper. Piper's breaths were becoming shallower and she gasped in pain every time she breathed. "Hurry, Jason. We don't have much time."

"I am." Kyle finally woke up and surveyed the scene around him.

Phoebe gave him the cliff notes version of what happened and explained why they needed to wake Paige up.

"I have an idea," he said, running to the kitchen. He can back with an armload of spices. "Hold these under her nose. They should wake her up."

Piper gave a shuddering breath and suddenly stopped shaking. Phoebe let out a cry and held her sister closer. "She's not breathing!"

Kyle shoved the spices to Jason. "You do it. I'll start CPR."

Kyle began CPR as Jason shoved the spices under Paige's nose. She immediately had a body spasm, and then finally came to. "What happened?" She asked in a throaty voice.

Jason moved out of her way so she could see Piper and Leo. "Oh my God!" she cried, running to Leo. She grabbed his hand in hers, and held their hands over is wound, letting Leo's healing power flow through her. A golden glow was emitted from their hands, indicating the healing was working.

Leo gasped and opened his eyes. Seeing Phoebe's tear streaked face above him, he asked, "Piper?"

"Hurry," she said. She moved out of the way so he could see Kyle frantically performing CPR.

Leo crawled to his wife's side, tears springing to his eyes. Kyle stopped performing CPR in order to let Leo heal her. "Come on, Piper," he said, attempting to heal her wound.

After what seemed like hours, but was actually only a few minutes, Phoebe asked, "What's taking so long? Is she dead?" Phoebe put a hand to her mouth, unable to believe she let the thought escape.

Leo was now crying freely. "No, she's alive. It's the baby."

"What about the baby?" Paige asked, confused.

"I don't think I can save him."


End file.
